Direct Detection of Gravity Waves from Neutron Stars

Abstract

In light of the discovery of the first-ever double pulsar system, PSR J0737-3039, we re-examine an earlier proposal to directly detect gravity waves from neutron stars, which was predicated on a hypothetical system almost identical to the later discovered double pulsar. We re-derive the effect in more detail, and confirm the initial estimate--sometimes doubted in the literature--that it includes a 1/b dependence, where b is the impact parameter of a pulsar with respect to its foreground, gravity-wave emitting, neutron star companion. A coherent modulation in pulsar time-of-arrival measurements of 10 nano-sec/sec is possible. A one-year intermittent experiment on an instrument comparable to the SKA could thus detect the exceedingly faint gravity waves from individual neutron stars.