Generic Gravitational Wave Signals from the Collapse of Rotating Stellar Cores

Abstract

We perform general relativistic simulations of stellar core collapse to a proto-neutron star, using a microphysical equation of state as well as an approximate description of deleptonization. We show that for a wide variety of rotation rates and profiles the gravitational wave burst signals from the core bounce are of a generic type, known as Type I in the literature. In our systematic study, using both general relativity and Newtonian gravity, we identify and individually quantify the micro- and macrophysical mechanisms leading to this result, i.e. the effects of rotation, the equation of state, and deleptonization. Such a generic type of signal templates will likely facilitate a more efficient search in current and future gravitational wave detectors of both interferometric and resonant type.