Constraining the Nuclear Symmetry Energy with Multimessenger Resonant Shattering Flares

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Astrophysics
• Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Background:

• The nuclear symmetry energy is crucial for understanding neutron star (NS) properties.
• Astrophysical observables like NS radii and tidal deformabilities may not reliably constrain nucleonic matter due to potential non-hadronic core composition.
• Terrestrial nuclear experiments provide valuable but limited insights into the symmetry energy across all relevant densities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a consistent inference method for constraining the nuclear symmetry energy using both astrophysical and nuclear data.
• To investigate the utility of coincident resonant shattering flare (RSF) and gravitational wave (GW) signals from binary neutron star (BNS) inspirals as a probe of the NS crust-core transition.
• To compare the constraints on the symmetry energy obtained from RSF-GW events with those from traditional nuclear and astrophysical measurements.

Main Methods:

• Performed a consistent inference using ensembles of core and crust equations of state.
• Combined astrophysical data (NS radii, tidal deformabilities) with nuclear data (nuclear masses, RSF properties).
• Analyzed the coincident timing of RSF and GW signals during BNS inspirals to probe the crust-core transition region.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that coincident RSF and GW signals provide constraints on the symmetry energy comparable to terrestrial nuclear experiments.
• Showed that nuclear masses, RSFs, and NS radii/tidal deformabilities probe different density ranges of the equation of state.
• Established that these different probes offer complementary information for a comprehensive understanding of the symmetry energy.

Conclusions:

• Coincident RSF and GW signals are powerful tools for probing the NS crust-core transition and constraining the nuclear symmetry energy.
• A multi-messenger approach combining astrophysical, nuclear, and gravitational wave observations provides a more complete picture of the equation of state.
• Future observations of RSF-GW events hold significant promise for advancing our understanding of dense nuclear matter.