Tidal deformability of neutron stars with realistic equations of state and their gravitational wave signatures in binary inspiral

The early part of the gravitational wave signal of binary neutron-star inspirals can potentially yield robust information on the nuclear equation of state. The influence of a star's internal structure on the waveform is characterized by a single parameter: the tidal deformability $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, which measures the star's quadrupole deformation in response to the companion's perturbing tidal field. We calculate $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ for a wide range of equations of state and find that the value of $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ spans an order of magnitude for the range of equation of state models considered. An analysis of the feasibility of discriminating between neutron-star equations of state with…