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Novel formulation of the quadrupole equation for potential stellar gravitational‐wave power estimation
Author(s) -
Baker R. M. L.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.200510617
Subject(s) - physics , gravitational wave , quadrupole , gravitation , classical mechanics , mass distribution , stellar mass , gravitational potential , astrophysics , stars , star formation , quantum mechanics , galaxy
A novel formulation of the quadrupole equation for potential stellar gravitational‐wave power estimation is derived. The derivation commences with the classical Einstein quadrupole formalism and then utilizes Newton's second law to establish a simplified formulation involving the radius of gyration of a mass or system of masses involving a pair of massive stars either on orbit about one another, or otherwise separated, or a star with a dumbbell‐like or aspherical mass distribution and an impulsive force acting on the mass or masses in order to estimate the power of a gravitational wave that is generated. A numerical example, based upon the well‐known gravitational‐wave power observed to be generated by PSR 1913+16, is utilized to test the formulation. Potential applications to stellar jets, including stellar‐black‐hole produced jets, are cited as examples of the potential applications of the novel quadrupole formulation. It is suggested that the gravitational waves, generated by the applications suggested, might be detected by the proposed space‐based Laser Interferometer Space Antenna or LISA. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)