Observationally constraining gravitational wave emission from short gamma-ray burst remnants

Abstract

Observations of short gamma-ray bursts indicate ongoing energy injection following the prompt emission, with the most likely candidate being the birth of a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star. We utilize X-ray observations of the burst remnant to constrain properties of the nascent neutron star, including its magnetic field-induced ellipticity and the saturation amplitude of various oscillation modes. Moreover, we derive strict upper limits on the gravitational wave emission from these objects by looking only at the X-ray light curve, showing the burst remnants are unlikely to be detected in the near future using ground-based gravitational wave interferometers, such as Advanced LIGO.