Explosion of a rotating neutron star near the minimum mass

Abstract

A Newtonian calculation is presented for the explosion of an unstable neutron star about the minimum mass, and the amount of neutrino, gravitational, and electromagnetic radiation emitted is estimated. The dynamical evolution of the star is followed by solving the Newtonian equations or motion for a homogeneous, uniformly rotating spheroid with internal pressure and gravity. At the outset, the oblate star is in hydrostatic equilibrium at the minimum mass along an equilibrium curve of fixed angular momentum. The explosion is almost instantaneous, with an intense burst of antineutrinos signaling the onset of abrupt acceleration. Antineutrino luminosities of 10 to the 50th to 10 to the 52nd ergs/s and bulk kinetic energies of order 10 to the 49th ergs are obtained. The results indicate that the gravitational radiation (GR) energy release from the explosion is rather small at E(GR)/M(B) less than 10 to the -14th with an amplitude at maximum acceleration of less than about 5 x 10 to the -23rd sine-squared Theta for a source at a distance of 10 kpc. 19 refs.