"Mountains”, or non-axisymmetric deformations of rotating neutron stars, efficiently radiate gravitational waves. We consider analogies between neutron star mountains and surface features of solar system bodies. Both neutron stars and moons, such as Europa or Enceladus, have thin crusts over deep oceans while Mercury has a thin crust over a large metallic core. Thin sheets may wrinkle in...
With the onset of the era of gravitational-wave astronomy, the search for continuous gravitational
waves, which remain undetected to date, has intensified in more ways than one. Rapidly rotating
neutron stars with non-axisymmetrical deformations of their crusts are the main targets for CGW
searches. The extent of this quadrupolar deformation (commonly referred to as mountains of...
In this talk, I will introduce a simple toy model that can simultaneously explain magnetar glitches and anti-glitches. It is based on the idea of mass ejection from the magnetar and how its magnetic field plays an important part in sustaining the mass quadrupole required for gravitational wave emission. I will use astrophysical arguments to argue that the continuous gravitational waves emitted...
