Gravitational wave probes of dense matter

Kai Schwenzer (Istanbul University)

The recent observation of the first neutron star merger, both across the electromagnetic spectrum and in gravitational waves, heralds the era of gravitational wave astronomy. Inferring the properties and composition of dense matter is one of the most exciting applications of this emerging area of science. Continuous gravitational wave sources have the potential to provide even more detailed insight into the properties of dense matter. We discuss how the present non-detection of a continuous gravitational wave signal from compact sources as well as additional multi-messenger observations already constrain their interior composition through r-mode astroseismology. We show that the standard model of a neutron star, made of conventional neutron matter, is strongly challenged since it cannot provide the dissipation required to explain the astrophysical data.