Speaker: Carolyn Raithel, Institute for Advanced Study
Abstract: Binary neutron star mergers provide a unique laboratory for studying the dense-matter equation of state (EOS) across a wide range of parameter space, from the cold EOS during the inspiral to the finite-temperature EOS following the merger. In this talk, I will discuss the impact of the EOS on the post-merger phase of a binary neutron star coalescence, during which time the matter is heated to significant temperatures and can deviate away from its initial equilibrium composition. I will present a new set of neutron star merger simulations, which use a parametrized framework for calculating the EOS at arbitrary temperatures and compositions. I will show how systematically varying the properties of the particle effective mass affects the thermal profile of the post-merger remnant and how this, in turn, influences the post-merger evolution. Finally, I will discuss the impact of varying the slope L of the nuclear symmetry energy on the properties of the post-merger phase. In particular, I will show that the post-merger gravitational wave emission is mostly insensitive to L, but that, in contrast, the dynamical ejecta carry a weak signature of the slope of the symmetry energy.