Effect of symmetry energy on properties of rapidly rotating neutron stars and universal relations

Abstract

We investigated universal relations for compact stars rotating at the Keplerian (mass-shedding) limit, which is highly relevant for understanding the rapidly rotating objects formed in the aftermath of a neutron star-neutron star merger. Our analysis is based on a set of nucleonic equations of state (EoSs) featuring systematic variations in the symmetry energy slope parameter $L_{\rm sym}$ and the isoscalar skewness parameter $Q_{\rm sat}$, varied within ranges that are broadly consistent with current laboratory and astrophysical constraints. The global observable properties of isolated maximally rotating stars are examined, focusing on the mass-radius relation, moment of inertia, quadrupole moment, and the Keplerian (maximum) rotation frequency, as well as their variations in the $L_{\rm sym}$-$Q_{\rm sat}$ parameter space. Next, we demonstrate that, in the limit of Keplerian rotation, universal relations remain valid across the same set of EoSs characterized by varying $L_{\rm sym}$ and $\Qsat$. In particular, we present explicit results for the moment of inertia ($I$) and quadrupole moment ($Q$) as functions of compactness, as well as for the moment of inertia-quadrupole moment relation. All of these relations exhibit excellent universality, with deviations typically within a range from a few percent to 10\% across a wide range of parameters. Additionally, we verify for our set of EoSs that the universality of $I$-$Q$ holds to higher accuracy (at the level of 1\%) in the slow-rotation approximation compared with the Kepler limit, where the relative error increases up to $\lesssim 10\%$. Our findings support the applicability of $I$-Love-$Q$-type universal relations in observational modeling of maximally rotating compact stars and the gravitational wave emitted by them.