We study the effect of tidal forcing on gravitational wave signals from tidally relaxed white dwarf pairs in the LISA, DECIGO and BBO frequency band ($0.1-100\,{\rm mHz}$). We show that for stars not in hydrostatic equilibrium (in their own rotating frames), tidal forcing will result in energy and angular momentum exchange between the orbit and the stars, thereby deforming the orbit and producing gravitational wave power in harmonics not excited in perfectly circular synchronous binaries. This effect is not present in the usual orbit-averaged treatment of the equilibrium tide, and is analogous to transit timing variations in multiplanet systems. It should be present for all LISA white dwarf pairs since gravitational waves carry away angular momentum faster than tidal torques can act to synchronize the spins, and when mass transfer occurs as it does for at least eight LISA verification binaries. With the strain amplitudes of the excited harmonics depending directly on the density profiles of the stars, gravitational wave astronomy offers the possibility of studying the internal structure of white dwarfs, complimenting information obtained from asteroseismology of pulsating white dwarfs. Since the vast majority of white-dwarf pairs in this frequency band are expected to be in the quasi-circular state, we focus here on these binaries, providing general analytic expressions for the dependence of the induced eccentricity and strain amplitudes on the stellar apsidal motion constants and their radius and mass ratios. Tidal dissipation and gravitation wave damping will affect the results presented here and will be considered elsewhere.
We discuss the role of dynamical tidal effects for inspiralling neutron star binaries, focussing on features that may be considered "unmodelled" in gravitational-wave searches. In order to cover the range of possibilities, we consider i) individual oscillation modes becoming resonant with the tide, ii) the elliptical instability, where a pair of inertial modes exhibit a nonlinear resonance with the tide, and iii) the non-resonant p-g instability which may arise as high order p- and g-modes in the star couple nonlinearly to the tide. In each case, we estimate the amount of additional energy los…
Although not nearly as numerous as binaries with two white dwarfs, eccentric neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) binaries are important gravitational-wave (GW) sources for the next generation of space-based detectors sensitive to low frequency waves. Here we investigate periastron precession in these sources as a result of general relativistic, tidal, and rotational effects; such precession is expected to be detectable for at least some of the detected binaries of this type. Currently, two eccentric NS-WD binaries are known in the galactic field, PSR J1141-6545 and PSR B2303+46, both of which hav…
The dynamical tide in a coalescing neutron star binary induces phase shifts in the gravitational waveform as the orbit sweeps through resonances with individual g-modes. Unlike the phase shift due to the equilibrium tide, the phase shifts due to the dynamical tide are sensitive to the stratification, composition, and superfluid state of the core. We extend our previous study of the dynamical tide in superfluid neutron stars by allowing for hyperons in the core. Hyperon gradients give rise to a new type of composition g-mode. Compared to g-modes due to muon-to-electron gradients, those due to h…
Tidal interactions can play an important role as compact white dwarf (WD) binaries are driven together by gravitational waves (GWs). This will modify the strain evolution measured by future space-based GW detectors and impact the potential outcome of the mergers. Surveys now and in the near future will generate an unprecedented population of detached WD binaries to constrain tidal interactions. Motivated by this, I summarize the deviations between a binary evolving under the influence of only GW emission and a binary that is also experiencing some degree of tidal locking. I present analytic re…
Low mass x-ray binaries (LMXBs), with either a neutron star (NS) or a black hole, show in their power spectra quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs). Those at highest frequencies show up in pairs and are named twin peak high frequency QPOs (HF QPOs). Their central frequencies are typical of the orbital motion timescale close to the compact object. HF QPOs are believed to carry unique information on the matter moving in the extreme gravitational field around the compact object. In previous works we highlighted the work done by strong tides on clumps of plasma orbiting in the accretion disk as suitab…
Extracting the unique information on ultradense nuclear matter from the gravitational waves emitted by merging, neutron-star binaries requires robust theoretical models of the signal. We develop a novel effective-one-body waveform model that includes, for the first time, dynamic (instead of only adiabatic) tides of the neutron star, as well as the merger signal for neutron-star--black-hole binaries. We demonstrate the importance of the dynamic tides by comparing our model against new numerical-relativity simulations of nonspinning neutron-star--black-hole binaries spanning more than 24 gravita…
We study the flux variation in helium white dwarfs (WDs) induced by dynamical tides for a variety of WD models with effective temperatures ranging from $T$=10 kK to $T$=26 kK. At linear order, we find the dynamical tide can significantly perturb the observed flux in hot WDs. If the temperature $T\gtrsim14$ kK, then the dynamical tide may induce a fractional change in the flux by >1% when the orbital period is $P_{\rm orb}\simeq 20-60\,{\rm min}$. The ratio between the flux modulation due to the dynamical tide and that due to the equilibrium tide (i.e., ellipsoidal variability) increases as the…
An important stage in the evolution of massive binaries is the formation of a compact object in the system. It is believed that in some cases a momentum kick is imparted to the newly born object, changing the orbital parameters of the binary, such as eccentricity and orbital period, and even acquiring an asynchronous orbit between its components. In this situation, tides play a central role in the evolution of these binaries. In this work we aim to study how the orbital parameters of a massive binary change after the formation of a compact object when the stellar spin of the non-degenerate com…
A weakly nonlinear fluid wave propagating within a star can be unstable to three-wave interactions. The resonant parametric instability is a well-known form of three-wave interaction in which a primary wave of frequency $ω_a$ excites a pair of secondary waves of frequency $ω_b+ω_c \simeq ω_a$. Here we consider a nonresonant form of three-wave interaction in which a low-frequency primary wave excites a high-frequency p-mode and a low-frequency g-mode such that $ω_b+ω_c >>ω_a$. We show that a p-mode can couple so strongly to a g-mode of similar radial wavelength that this type of interaction is …
The detections of gravitational waves produced in mergers of binary black holes (BH) and neutron stars (NS) by LIGO/Virgo have stimulated interest in the origin of the progenitor binaries. Dense stellar systems - globular and nuclear star clusters - are natural sites of compact object binary formation and evolution towards merger. Here we explore a new channel for the production of binary mergers in clusters, in which the tidal field of the cluster secularly drives the binary to high eccentricity (even in the absence of a central massive black hole) until gravitational wave emission becomes im…
Tidal effects in gravitational-wave (GW) observations from binary neutron star mergers have the potential to probe ultra-dense matter and shed light on the unknown nuclear equation of state of neutron stars. Tidal effects in inspiralling neutron star binaries become relevant at GW frequencies of a few hundred Hz and require detectors with exquisite high-frequency sensitivity. Third generation GW detectors such as the Einstein Telescope or Cosmic Explorer will be particularly sensitive in this high-frequency regime, allowing us to probe neutron star tides beyond the adiabatic approximation. Her…
Recent surveys show that wide ($>10^4$ AU) binaries and triples are abundant in the field. We study the long-term evolution of wide hierarchical triple systems and the role played by the Galactic tidal (GT) field. We find that when the timescales of the secular von-Ziepel-Lidov-Kozai and the GT oscillations are comparable, triple evolution becomes chaotic which leads to extreme eccentricities. Consequently, the close pericentre approaches of the inner-binary components lead to strong interactions, mergers and collisions. We use a novel secular evolution code to quantify the key parameters and …
Tidal dissipation in compact white dwarf (WD) binary systems significantly influences the physical conditions (such as surface temperature and rotation rate) of the WDs prior to mass transfer or merger. In these systems, the dominant tidal effects involve the excitation of gravity waves and their dissipation in the outer envelope of the star. We calculate the amplitude of tidally excited gravity waves in low-mass (0.3M_\odot) helium-core (He) WDs as a function of the tidal forcing frequency ω. Like carbon-oxygen (CO) WDs studied in our previous paper, we find that the dimensionless tidal torqu…
We describe new functionality in the GYRE stellar oscillation code for modeling tides in binary systems. Using a multipolar expansion in space and a Fourier-series expansion in time, we decompose the tidal potential into a superposition of partial tidal potentials. The equations governing the small-amplitude response of a spherical star to an individual partial potential are the linear, non-radial, non-adiabatic oscillation equations with an extra inhomogeneous forcing term. We introduce a new executable, gyre_tides, that directly solves these equations within the GYRE numerical framework. App…
We perform hydrodynamic simulations of mass transfer in binaries that contain a white dwarf and a neutron star (WD-NS binaries), and measure the specific angular momentum of material lost from the binary in disc winds. By incorporating our results within a long-term evolution model we measure the long-term stability of mass transfer in these binaries. We find that only binaries containing helium white dwarfs with masses less than a critical mass of $M_{\rm WD,crit}=0.2\,M_\odot$ undergo stable mass transfer and evolve into ultra-compact $X$-ray binaries. Systems with higher-mass white dwarfs e…
We present numerical simulations modeling the orbital evolution of very wide binaries, pairs of stars separated by over ~1000 AU. Due to perturbations from other passing stars and the Milky Way's tide, the orbits of very wide binary stars occasionally become extremely eccentric, which forces close encounters between the companion stars (Kaib et al. 2013). We show that this process causes a stellar collision between very wide binary companion stars once every 1000-7500 years on average in the Milky Way. One of the main uncertainties in this collision rate is the amount of energy dissipated by d…
This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of accreting white dwarfs. For a summary, we refer to the paper.
We perform the first systematic study on how dynamical stellar tides and general relativistic (GR) effects affect the dynamics and outcomes of binary-single interactions. For this, we have constructed an N-body code that includes tides in the affine approximation, where stars are modeled as self-similar ellipsoidal polytropes, and GR corrections using the commonly-used post-Newtonian formalism. Using this numerical formalism, we are able resolve the leading effect from tides and GR across several orders of magnitude in both stellar radius and initial target binary separation. We find that the …
We study the evolution and gravitational wave emission of white dwarf -- black hole accreting binaries with a semi-analytical model. These systems will evolve across the mHz gravitational wave frequency band and potentially be detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We identify new universal relations for this class of binaries, which relate the component masses to the gravitational wave frequency and its first derivative. Combined with the high precision measurements possible with LISA, these relations could allow us to infer the component masses and the luminosity distance…
We explore the long-term evolution of mass-transferring white dwarf binaries undergoing both direct-impact and disk accretion and explore implications of such systems to gravitational wave astronomy. We cover a broad range of initial component masses and show that these systems, the majority of which lie within the LISA sensitivity range, exhibit prominent negative orbital frequency evolution (chirp) for a significant fraction of their lifetimes. Using a galactic population synthesis, we predict ~$2700$ double white dwarfs will be observable by LISA with negative chirps less than $-0.1\ yr^{-2…
The space gravitational wave detector LISA is expected to detect $\sim10^4$ of nearly monochromatic binaries, after $\sim 10$yr operation. We propose to measure the inspiral/outspiral binary fluxes in the frequency space, by processing tiny frequency drifts of these numerous binaries. Rich astrophysical information is encoded in the frequency dependencies of the two fluxes, and we can read the long-term evolution of white dwarf binaries, resulting in metamorphoses or disappearances. This measurement will thus help us to deepen our understanding on the strongly interacting exotic objects. Using…
Ultra-compact binaries (UCBs) are systems containing compact or degenerate stars with orbital periods less than one hour. Tens of millions of UCBs are predicted to exist within theGalaxy emitting gravitational waves (GWs) at mHz frequencies. Combining GW searches with electromagnetic (EM) surveys like Gaia and LSST will yield a comprehensive, multimessenger catalog of UCBs in the galaxy. Joint EM and GW observations enable measurements of masses, radii, and orbital dynamics far beyond what can be achieved by independent EM or GW studies. GW+EM surveys of UCBs in the galaxy will yield a trove o…
We discuss mass transfer in eccentric binaries containing a white dwarf and a neutron star (WD--NS binaries). We show that such binaries are produced from field binaries following a series of mass transfer episodes that allow the white dwarf to form before the neutron star. We predict the orbital properties of binaries similar to the observed WD--NS binary J1141+6545, and show that they will undergo episodic mass transfer from the white dwarf to the neutron star. Furthermore, we describe oil-on-water, a two-phase SPH formalism that we have developed in order to model mass transfer in such bina…
We study evolution of a hierarchical four-body (2+2) system composed by a pair of mass-transferring white dwarf binaries. Applying a simplified model around the synchronous state of two inner orbital periods, we newly find that the four body system could settle down to a limit cycle with a small period gap. The period gap generates an amplitude variation of emitted gravitational waves, as a beat effect. Depending on model parameters, the beat period could be 1-10 yr and a large amplitude variation might be observed by space gravitational-wave detectors.
Tidal effects have important imprints on gravitational waves (GWs) emitted during the final stage of the coalescence of binaries that involve neutron stars (NSs). Dynamical tides can be significant when NS oscillations become resonant with orbital motion; understanding this process is important for accurately modeling GW emission from these binaries, and for extracting NS information from GW data. In this paper, we carry out a systematic study on the tidal excitation of fundamental modes of spinning NSs in coalescencing binaries, focusing on the case when the NS spin is anti-aligned with the o…
Redbacks (RBs) and black widows (BWs) are two peculiar classes of eclipsing millisecond pulsars (MSPs). The accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of an oxygen/neon/magnesium composition white dwarf to a neutron star has been suggested as one possible formation pathway for those two classes of MSPs. However, it is difficult to produce all known MSPs with the traditional AIC scenario. In this study by using the MESA stellar evolution code, we investigate the detailed pre-AIC evolution of magnetized white dwarf binaries with the magnetic confinement model where the high magnetic field strength of the …
Double white dwarf (DWD) binaries are expected to be very common in the Milky Way, but their intrinsic faintness challenges the detection of these systems. Currently, only a few tens of detached DWDs are know. Such systems offer the best chance of extracting the physical properties that would allow us to address a wealth of outstanding questions ranging from the nature of white dwarfs, over stellar and binary evolution to mapping the Galaxy. In this paper we explore the prospects for detections of ultra-compact (with binary separations of a few solar radii or less) detached DWDs in: 1) optical…
Understanding the origin of the magnetic fields in white dwarfs (WDs) has been a puzzle for decades. A scenario that has gained considerable attention in the past years assumes that such magnetic fields are generated through a dynamo process during common-envelope evolution. We performed binary population models using an up-to-date version of the BSE code to confront the predictions of this model with observational results. We found that this hypothesis can only explain the observed distribution of WD magnetic fields in polars and pre-polars and the low-temperature WDs in pre-polars if it is r…
Recently, a large number of low-mass (<0.30 M_sun) helium white dwarfs (He WDs) have been discovered as a result of several surveys campaigns such as WASP, ELM, Kepler or SDSS. The far majority of them have as companion another compact object. There appears to be discrepancies between current theoretical modelling of low-mass He WDs and a number of key observational cases indicating that some details of their formation scenario yet remain to be understood.
Galactic binaries with orbital periods less than $\approx$1 hr are strong gravitational wave sources in the mHz regime, ideal for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). In fact, theory predicts that \emph{LISA} will resolve tens of thousands of Galactic binaries individually with a large fraction being bright enough for electromagnetic observations. This opens up a new window where we can study a statistical sample of compact Galactic binaries in both, the electromagnetic as well the gravitational wavebands. Using multi-messenger observations we can measure tidal effects in detached do…
Interacting binaries containing white dwarfs can lead to a variety of outcomes that range from powerful thermonuclear explosions, which are important in the chemical evolution of galaxies and as cosmological distance estimators, to strong sources of low frequency gravitational wave radiation, which makes them ideal calibrators for the gravitational low-frequency wave detector LISA mission. However, current theoretical evolution models still fail to explain the observed properties of the known populations of white dwarfs in both interacting and detached binaries. Major limitations are that the …
Double white dwarf binaries in the Galaxy dominate the gravitational wave sky and would be detectable for an instrument such as LISA. Most studies have calculated the expected gravitational wave signal under the assumption that the binary white dwarf system can be represented by two point masses in orbit. We discuss the accuracy of this approximation for real astrophysical systems. For non-relativistic binaries in circular orbit the gravitational wave signal can easily be calculated. We show that for these systems the point mass approximation is completely justified when the individual stars a…
Neutron star-helium white dwarf (NS+He WD) binaries are important evolutionary products of close-orbit binary star systems. They are often observed as millisecond pulsars and may continue evolving into ultra-compact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) and continuous gravitational wave (GW) sources that will be detected by space-borne GW observatories, such as LISA, TianQin and Taiji. Nevertheless, the stability of NS+He WD binaries undergoing mass transfer is not well studied and still under debate. In this paper, we model the evolution of NS+He WD binaries with WD masses ranging from 0.17-0.45 $M_{\odot}$…
Evolution of binaries containing a hot subdwarf and a white dwarf to double white dwarfs, and double detonation supernovae with hypervelocity runaway stars
Black holes in binary star systems are vital for understanding the process of pr oducing gravitational wave sources, understanding how supernovae work, and for p roviding fossil evidence for the high mass stars from earlier in the Universe. At the present time, sample sizes of these objects, and especially of black hole s in binaries, are quite limited. Furthermore, more precise measurements of the binary parameters are needed, as well. With improvements primarily in X-ray an d radio astronomy capabilities, it should be possible to build much larger sampl es of much better measured black hole …
In the single degenerate scenario for the progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), a white dwarf rapidly accretes hydrogen- or helium-rich material from its companion star, and appears as a supersoft X-ray source. This picture has been challenged by the properties of the supersoft X-ray sources with very low-mass companions and the observations of several nearby SNe Ia. It has been pointed out that, the X-ray radiation or the wind from the accreting white dwarf can excite wind or strip mass from the companion star, thus significantly influence the mass transfer processes. In this paper we p…
Recently, an instability due to the nonlinear coupling of p-modes to g-modes in tidally deformed neutron stars in coalescing binaries has been studied in some detail. The result is significant because it could influence the inspiral and leave an imprint on the gravitational wave signal that depends on the neutron star equation of state (EOS). Because of its potential importance, the details of the instability should be further elucidated and its sensitivity to the EOS should be investigated. To this end, we carry out a numerical analysis with six representative EOSs for both static and non-sta…
Merging neutron star (NS) binaries may be detected by ground-based gravitational wave (GW) interferometers (e.g. LIGO/VIRGO) within this decade and may also generate electromagnetic radiation detectable by wide-field, fast imaging telescopes that are coming online. The GWs can provide new constraint on the NS equation of state (including mass-radius relation and the related nuclear symmetry energy through resonant g-modes). This paper reviews various hydrodynamical (including equilibrium and dynamical/resonant tides) and electrodynamical processes in coalescing NS binaries, with focus on the p…
The excitation of $f$-mode in a neutron star member of coalescing binaries accelerates the merger course, and thereby introduces a phase shift in the gravitational waveform. Emphasising on the tidal phase shift by aligned, rotating stars, we provide an accurate, yet economical, method to generate $f$-mode-involved, pre-merger waveforms using realistic spin-modulated $f$-mode frequencies for some viable equations of state. We find for slow-rotating stars that the dephasing effects of the dynamical tides can be uniquely, EOS-independently determined by the direct observables (chirp mass ${\cal M…
