Degeneracy in the Inference of Phase Transitions in the Neutron Star Equation of State from Gravitational Wave Data

Carolyn A Raithel; Elias R Most

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.201403

Degeneracy in the Inference of Phase Transitions in the Neutron Star Equation of State from Gravitational Wave Data

Phys Rev Lett. 2023 May 19;130(20):201403. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.201403.

Authors

Carolyn A Raithel¹, Elias R Most¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA; Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA and Princeton Gravity Initiative, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.

PMID: 37267559
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.201403

Abstract

Gravitational wave (GW) detections of binary neutron star inspirals will be crucial for constraining the dense matter equation of state (EOS). We demonstrate a new degeneracy in the mapping from tidal deformability data to the EOS, which occurs for models with strong phase transitions. We find that there exists a new family of EOS with phase transitions that set in at different densities and that predict neutron star radii that differ by up to ∼500 m but that produce nearly identical tidal deformabilities for all neutron star masses. Next-generation GW detectors and advances in nuclear theory may be needed to resolve this degeneracy.