Circular polarization of gravitational waves from magnetorotational supernovae
磁转超新星引力波的圆偏振
Context. Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a unique probe of the explosion mechanism of massive stars and the evolution of nascent proto-neutron stars (PNSs). Magnetorotational explosions are one of the promising noncanonical core-collapse supernova scenarios, and they might be linked to magnetar formation and energetic supernova explosions. However, the GW signatures of such events currently remain incompletely understood. Aims. We investigate the origin and nature of GW polarization arising from a magnetorotational core-collapse model and examine its potential detectability by current GW observatories. Methods. We performed a three-dimensional simulation of general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics of a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized 20 M<SUB>⊙</SUB> progenitor, including multi-energy neutrino transport. The GW signals were extracted using the standard quadrupole formalism, and their polarization states were analyzed with Stokes parameters. Results. Strong circular polarization emerges along the rotation axis during the early post-bounce phase (≲230 ms after core bounce). The characteristic GW spectrum peaks at ∼90 Hz, consistent with the emission at twice the local angular velocity (∼45 Hz) around the PNS surface at cylindrical radii of ∼50 km. These features are attributed to the low-T/|W| instabilities and nonaxisymmetric motions near the PNS and not to the magnetohydrodynamic jets themselves. The polarization signals lie within the sensitivity bands of current detectors such as Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA. Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that models in which magnetorotationally driven jets are launched can produce circularly polarized GW signals originating from the inner PNS region. This provides an observational signature that complements previous findings from nonmagnetized rotating models. Thus, our novel findings establish that the GW polarization is a promising diagnostic of noncanonical core-collapse supernovae. Future third-generation detectors will be crucial to fully exploit this potential.
展开 ▾首次在成功喷流的磁转模型中揭示显著的引力波圆偏振,确证信号来自 PNS 表面非轴对称运动而非喷流本身,为区分超新星爆发机制提供偏振探针;特征频率约 90 Hz 位于 Advanced LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA 频段,具有潜在可探测性。
长期以来,快速旋转核坍缩超新星的引力波信号被认为主要源于低 T/|W| 不稳定性,该不稳定性可在纯流体模型中产生显著的圆偏振(Hayama+ 2016;Shibagaki+ 2021)。然而,磁转超新星中磁场的引入可能通过磁应力输运角动量而抑制旋转,从而影响引力波偏振特征(Bugli+ 2023)。本文作者基于三维广义相对论磁流体力学模拟,首次在成功驱动磁流体喷流的模型中探测到强圆偏振信号,并证实其主要来自原中子星附近的低 T/|W| 不稳定性(Ott+ 2005)及螺旋臂运动,而非喷流本身;特征频率约 90 Hz 符合两倍局部旋转频率的预期(Takiwaki+ 2021)。这一发现将引力波偏振探测从纯旋转模型拓展到磁化喷流情景,为区分不同超新星爆发机制提供了新途径。未来研究需系统探索前身星旋转率、磁场强度等参数空间,并结合第三代探测器能力,进一步确立偏振作为核心坍缩引擎诊断工具的可行性。
预印本 2026-03-20 · 刊出 2026-07-16 · 收录 2026-07-22