Prospects for detecting and localizing short-duration transient gravitational waves from glitching neutron stars without electromagnetic counterparts

Understand

Neutron stars are known to show accelerated spin-up of their rotational frequency called a glitch.

• Highly magnetized rotating neutron stars (pulsars) are frequently observed by radio telescopes (and in other frequencies), where the glitch is observed as irregular arrival times of pulses which are otherwise very regular.
• A glitch in an isolated neutron star can excite the fundamental (f)-mode oscillations which can lead to gravitational wave generation.
• Electromagnetic observations of pulsars (and hence pulsar glitches) require the pulsar to be oriented so that the jet is pointed toward the detector, but this is not a requirement for gravitational wave emission which is more isotropic and not jetlike.