Nuclear physics constraints from binary neutron star mergers in the Einstein Telescope era

Understand

The next generation of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors, Einstein Telescope (ET) and Cosmic Explorer (CE), present a unique opportunity to put constraints on dense matter, among many other groundbreaking scientific goals.

• In a recent study the science case of ET was further strengthened, studying in particular the performances of different detector designs.
• In this paper we present a more detailed study of the nuclear physics section of that work.
• In particular, focusing on two different detector configurations (the single-site triangular-shaped design and a design consisting of two widely separated "L-shaped" interferometers), we study the detection prospects of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, and how they can reshape our understanding of the underlying equation of state (EoS) of dense matter.