Generic Gravitational Wave Signals from the Collapse of Rotating Stellar Cores: A Detailed Analysis

We present detailed results from performing general relativistic (GR) simulations of stellar core collapse to a proto-neutron star, using a microphysical equation of state (EoS) as well as an approximate description of deleptonization during the collapse phase. We show that for a wide variety of rotation rates and profiles the gravitational wave (GW) burst signals from the core bounce are of a generic type, already known as Type I in the literature. In addition, for most models the characteristic frequency of the GW burst signal lies in a narrow range around approximately 718 Hz. In our systematic study, using both GR and Newtonian gravity, we identify, individually quantify, and discuss in detail the micro- and macrophysical mechanisms leading to this result, i.e. the effects of rotation, the EoS, and deleptonization. We also discuss the detectability prospects of such GW burst signals by GW detectors, and infer that such a generic type of signal templates will likely facilitate a more efficient search in current and future detectors of both interferometric and resonant type.