Gravitational waves from pulsations of neutron stars described by realistic equations of state

In this work we discuss the time evolution of nonspherical perturbations of a nonrotating neutron star described by a realistic equation of state (EOS). We analyze 10 different EOS for a large sample of neutron star models. Various kinds of generic initial data are evolved and the gravitational signals are computed. We focus on the dynamical excitation of fluid and spacetime modes and extract the corresponding frequencies. We employ a constrained numerical algorithm based on standard finite-differencing schemes which permits stable and long-term evolutions. Our code provides accurate waveforms and allows one to capture, via Fourier analysis, the frequencies of the fluid modes with an accuracy comparable to that of frequency-domain calculations. The results we present here are useful for providing comparisons with simulations of nonlinear oscillations of (rotating) neutron star models as well as test beds for 3D nonlinear codes. © 2008 The American Physical Society.