The Fate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers

Understand

Following merger, a neutron star (NS) binary can produce roughly one of three different outcomes: (1) a stable NS, (2) a black hole (BH), or (3) a supra-massive, rotationally-supported NS, which then collapses to a BH following angular momentum losses.

• Which of these fates occur and in what proportion has important implications for the electromagnetic transient associated with the mergers and the expected gravitational wave signatures, which in turn depend on the high density equation of state (EOS).
• Here we combine relativistic calculations of NS masses using realistic EOSs with Monte Carlo population synthesis based on the mass distribution of NS binaries in our Galaxy to predict the distribution of fates expected.
• For many EOSs, a significant fraction of the remnants are NSs or supra-massive NSs.