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Mountain formation by repeated, inhomogeneous crustal failure in a neutron star
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Submitted 25 May 2022
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim The last failure event typically occurs when the star spins down to approximately 1% of its birth frequency with implications for rotational glitch activity.
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The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
The elastic crust of a neutron star fractures repeatedly as it spins down electromagnetically. An idealised, macroscopic model of inhomogeneous crustal failure is presented based on a cellular automaton with nearest-neighbour tectonic interactions involving strain redistribution and thermal dissipation. Predictions are made of the size and waiting-time distributions of failure events, as well as the rate of failure as the star spins down. The last failure event typically occurs when the star spins down to approximately 1% of its birth frequency with implications for rotational glitch activity. Neutron stars are commonly suggested as sources of continuous gravitational waves. The output of the automaton is converted into predictions of the star's mass ellipticity and gravitational wave strain as functions of its age, with implications for future observations with instruments such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Virgo interferometer, or the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA).
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | The elastic crust of a neutron star fractures repeatedly as it spins down electromagnetically. | background 0.93 | 0.22 | 0.14 | asserted 1.00 |
| s1 | An idealised, macroscopic model of inhomogeneous crustal failure is presented based on a cellular automaton with nearest-neighbour tectonic interactions involving strain redistribution and thermal dissipation. | method 0.93 | 0.91 | 0.07 | asserted 0.99 |
| s2 | Predictions are made of the size and waiting-time distributions of failure events, as well as the rate of failure as the star spins down. | contribution 0.50 | 0.89 | 0.09 | asserted 0.99 |
| s3 | The last failure event typically occurs when the star spins down to approximately 1% of its birth frequency with implications for rotational glitch activity. | result 0.84 | 0.85 | 0.27 | asserted 0.91 |
| s4 | Neutron stars are commonly suggested as sources of continuous gravitational waves. | background 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.03 | hedged possibility 0.96 |
| s5 | The output of the automaton is converted into predictions of the star's mass ellipticity and gravitational wave strain as functions of its age, with implications for future observations with instruments such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Virgo interferometer, or the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA). | interpretation 0.42 | 0.88 | 0.24 | asserted 0.89 |
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The paper
Original abstract
The elastic crust of a neutron star fractures repeatedly as it spins down electromagnetically. An idealised, macroscopic model of inhomogeneous crustal failure is presented based on a cellular automaton with nearest-neighbour tectonic interactions involving strain redistribution and thermal dissipation. Predictions are made of the size and waiting-time distributions of failure events, as well as the rate of failure as the star spins down. The last failure event typically occurs when the star spins down to approximately 1% of its birth frequency with implications for rotational glitch activity. Neutron stars are commonly suggested as sources of continuous gravitational waves. The output of the automaton is converted into predictions of the star's mass ellipticity and gravitational wave strain as functions of its age, with implications for future observations with instruments such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Virgo interferometer, or the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA).
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References
How the literature uses it
5 arXiv papers cite this in 6 sentences
Papers citing it · 3 sentences without a confident label
Cites it as background 3 papers
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Non-axisymmetries arise from several mechanisms in both isolated and accreting systems, including deformations due to the strong internal magnetic field [ref] , temperature gradients in the crust leading to elastic strain [ref] , and superfluid vortex pinning in the stellar interior [ref] .
Relaxation of magnetically-confined mountains on accreting neutron stars through cross-field mass transport · Introduction · 0.94
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Possible emission mechanisms include small deformations of the neutron star crust created by thermoelastic [ref] , magnetic [ref] , or tectonic [ref] stresses, fluid oscillation modes (e.g., $r$-modes) that are unstable to gravitational radiation [ref] , and pulsar spin-up glitches [ref] .
Search for continuous gravitational waves directed at sub-threshold radiometer candidates in O3 LIGO data · Introduction · 0.96
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These include deformations created by thermal [ref] , magnetic [ref] , and tectonic [ref] effects, as well as fluid oscillations (particularly $r$-modes) [ref] .
Search for continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars in five globular clusters with a phase-tracking hidden Markov model in the third LIGO observing run · Introduction · 0.95
What it cites · 7 sentences without a confident label
Uses the method or tool of 1 paper
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Following [ref] we define failure to occur when $γ_i,j ≥σ_i,j$ is satisfied for some $(i,j)$, i.e. failure occurs when the strain angle in some cell exceeds its breaking strain.
Crust breaking and the limiting rotational frequency of neutron stars · Macroscopic redistribution and dissipation of stress due to failure · 1.00
Uses data or values from 1 paper
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We calculate $Δr_i,j ≪r_i,j$ from [equation] where $μ= 2.4 ×10^29 J m^-3$ is the shear modulus of crust at the crust-core boundary as calculated by [ref] , who used the methodology of [ref] , and the factor $(1-β)$ describes thermal losses during plastic deformation as discussed in Section [ref] (fiducial value $β=0.9$).
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Shear Moduli for Coulomb Crystals · Radial movement · 0.93
Cites as background 4 papers
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To date modelling has concentrated on calculating the microphysics of crust failure [ref] .
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Shear Moduli for Coulomb Crystals · Introduction · 0.87
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To date modelling has concentrated on calculating the microphysics of crust failure [ref] .
Neutron Star Crust and Molecular Dynamics Simulation · Introduction · 0.87
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A neutron star is primarily composed of an incompressible superfluid interior and a solid crystalline crust [ref] .
Crust breaking and the limiting rotational frequency of neutron stars · Tectonics · 0.89
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