Dependence of the Reconstructed Core-Collapse Supernova Gravitational Wave High-Frequency Feature on the Nuclear Equation of State, in Real Interferometric Data

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how the high-frequency feature of gravitational waves from core-collapse supernovae varies with different nuclear equations of state, demonstrating potential for future GW detectors to constrain supernova physics.

Contribution

It introduces a method to relate the high-frequency gravitational wave feature to the nuclear equation of state using simulations and real detector noise analysis.

Findings

HFF slope varies by 10-50% across models

Current detectors can resolve HFF slope differences up to 1 kpc

Future detectors will improve the ability to constrain the EOS

Abstract

We present an analysis of gravitational wave (GW) predictions from five two-dimensional Core Collapse Supernova (CCSN) simulations that varied only in the Equation of State (EOS) implemented. The GW signals from these simulations are used to produce spectrograms in the absence of noise, and the emergent high-frequency feature (HFF) is found to differ quantitatively between simulations. Below 1 kHz, the HFF is well approximated by a first-order polynomial in time. The resulting slope was found to vary between 10-50% across all models. Further, using real interferometric noise we investigated the current capabilities of GW detectors to resolve these differences in HFF slope for a Galactic CCSN. We find that for distances up to 1 kpc, current detectors can resolve HFF slopes that vary by at least 30%. For further Galactic distances, current detectors are capable of distinguishing the upper and lower bounds of the HFF slope for groupings of our models that varied in EOS. With the higher sensitivity of future GW detectors, and with improved analysis of the HFF, our ability to resolve properties of the HFF will improve for all Galactic distances. This study shows the potential of using the HFF of CCSN produced GWs to provide insight into the physical processes occurring deep within CCSN during collapse, and in particular its potential to further constrain the EOS through GW detection.