3

In a perfectly symmetrical supernova explosion presumably the net recoil would be zero.But would there be a recoil due to the emission of gravitational waves in a more realistic asymmetrical explosion?

  • What do you mean with recoil in this context? Momentum is conserved, regardless of symmetry. – planetmaker Apr 11 '23 at 13:40
  • As with your other GW questions, any effect would be utterly neglible. – James K Apr 11 '23 at 17:22
  • @JamesK I'm not so sure that it would be negligible. Core-collapse supernovae may be quite asymmetrical, giving the remnant a considerable kick. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar_kick So they might produce gravitational waves that are roughly of the strength seen when neutron stars or small black holes merge, give or take an order of magnitude. – PM 2Ring Apr 11 '23 at 18:24
  • Oh yes, a very substantial kick, potentially quite enough to eject the resulting neutron star from the galaxy. They can have velocities in excess of 800km/s. Almost none of that recoil is from gravitational waves. It is due to the explosion and the asymmetric expulsion of matter at extremely high velocity that can impart momentum to the neutron star. How do I know? GW are very hard to detect, and yet high velocity pulsars have been know about since the 1990s. If the mechanism was GW, this would be noted as the first evidence that GW exist. – James K Apr 11 '23 at 20:57
  • 2
    @JamesK it is not yet decided what causes neutron star recoil - other than some sort of asymmetry. Recoil caused by GWs from merging binaries is a hot topic at the moment. They are more powerful GW emitters, but I'm not sure the question of recoil in supernovae can be dismissed immediately. – ProfRob Apr 11 '23 at 22:01
  • potentially helpful Do gravitational waves impart linear momentum to objects? (e.g. Quasar 3C 186) – uhoh Apr 11 '23 at 23:11

0 Answers0