Searching for gravitational waves from pulsars

This work aims to measure the size of the deformations (or mountains) on the extremely dense and rapidly rotating stellar remnants known as neutron stars. To do this I will search for gravitational-waves signals from a selection of Galactic neutron stars, observed as pulsars through their beamed radio emission, using data from the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors. The gravitational waves are caused by the neutron star mountain distorting space-time the star whizzes around, with these distortions rippling their way across space to the Earth. The strength of the gravitational-wave signal, along with the distance to the pulsar and its rotation rate, will allow us to measure the size of the mountains. This in turn can tell us about the material from which the neutron star is made and the strength of the extreme magnetic field within it, which are properties that are unattainable in Earth-based laboratories.

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