preprintPhysical Review LettersFeb 10, 2026HYBRID OA

Megahertz Gravitational Waves from Neutron Star Mergers

DBDiego BlasJCJorge Casalderrey-SolanaDMDavid MateosMSMikel Sanchez-Garitaonandia

Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology · +3 more institutions

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Abstract

Neutron star mergers provide a unique laboratory for the study of strong-field gravity coupled to quantum chromodynamics in extreme conditions. The frequencies and amplitudes of the resulting gravitational waves encode invaluable information about the merger. Simulations to date have shown that these frequencies lie in the kilohertz range. They have also shown that, if quantum chromodynamics possesses a first-order phase transition at high baryon density, then this is likely to be accessed during the merger dynamics. Here, we show that this would result in the nucleation of superheated and/or supercompressed bubbles whose subsequent dynamics would produce gravitational waves in the megahertz range. We estimate…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Physics
  • Gravitational wave
  • Neutron star
  • Hertz
  • Amplitude
  • Astrophysics
  • Quantum mechanics
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