Milli-to-Deci-Hertz Detection Prospects for Gravitational Waves from Core-Collapse Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential for next-generation space and lunar gravitational wave detectors to observe low-frequency signals from core-collapse supernovae, which could reveal asymmetric stellar core dynamics and extend detection horizons beyond the Milky Way.

Contribution

It demonstrates, using advanced 3D simulations, that space-based and lunar GW detectors could significantly improve detection prospects for supernova GWs below 25 Hz, surpassing current terrestrial capabilities.

Findings

Detection horizon could extend to several megaparsecs.

Space and lunar detectors are promising for low-frequency GW signals.

Simulations cover a wide range of progenitor masses.

Abstract

Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy truly began with the detection of merging compact binaries. The next breakthrough lies in detecting GWs from core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), particularly the GW linear memory -- a phenomenon arising from aspherical matter ejection and anisotropic neutrino emission during stellar collapse. In this Letter, we examine the feasibility of detecting this effect using next-generation space-based GW detectors or lunar-based GW observatories as this signature peaks below 25 Hz, which is largely inaccessible to terrestrial GW detectors due to seismic noise. Such a detection would provide fundamental insights into asymmetric matter dynamics near the collapsed core, shedding light on the stellar corpse that once represented the mass of the progenitor star and offering a front row seat to the potential formation of either a nascent neutron star progenitor or a black hole. Leveraging the longest-duration three-dimensional CCSNe simulations to date, spanning a wide range of progenitor masses, we show that space-based and lunar GW detectors present the most promising opportunities to extend the current CCSNe GW detection horizon (~ 10 kiloparsecs) to several megaparsecs. This may pave the way for regularly observing GWs from CCSNe beyond our Milky Way by utilizing the distinctive environments of space and the Moon to augment terrestrial detection efforts all the while synergistically advancing sophisticated data analysis techniques for routine GW detection.