Gravitational Radiation from Pulsating White Dwarfs

Abstract

Rotating white dwarfs undergoing quasi-radial oscillations can emit gravitational radiation in a frequency range from 0.1 to 0.3 Hz. Assuming that the energy source for the gravitational radiation comes from the oblateness of the white dwarf induced by the rotation, the strain amplitude is found to be ~10 -27 for a white dwarf at ~50 pc. The Galactic population of these sources is estimated to be ~10 7 and may produce a confusion-limited foreground for proposed advanced detectors in the frequency band between space-based and ground-based interferometers. Nearby oscillating white dwarfs may provide a clear enough signal to investigate white dwarf interiors through gravitational wave asteroseismology.