General-relativistic treatment of tidal g-mode resonances in coalescing binaries of neutron stars – I. Theoretical framework and crust breaking

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the final stages of a neutron-star binary coalescence, stellar quasi-normal modes can become resonantly excited by tidal fields. If the strain exerted by the excited modes exceeds the extent to which the crust can respond linearly, localized crustal failures may occur. In this work, we re-examine resonant g-mode excitations of relativistic neutron stars in the last ∼10 s of an inspiral. We adopt realistic equations of state that pass constraints from GW170817, include third-order post-Newtonian terms for the conservation orbital motion, and employ a 2.5 post-Newtonian scheme for gravitational back-reaction. Frequency modulations of the modes due to tidal fields, Lorentz forces, and (slow) rotation are also considered to investigate the maximal strain achievable by resonantly excited g modes. Depending on the equation of state, degree of stratification, and stellar magnetic field, we find that certain g-mode excitations may be able to break the crust some seconds prior to coalescence.