Pulsars and Gravitational Waves

Abstract

The relationship between pulsar-like compact stars and gravitational waves is briefly reviewed. Due to regular spins, pulsars could be useful tools for us to detect ~nano-Hz low-frequency gravitational waves by pulsar-timing array technique; besides, they would also be ~kilo-Hz high-frequency gravitational wave radiators because of their compactness. The wave strain of an isolate pulsar depends on the equation state of cold matter at supra-nuclear densities. Therefore, a real detection of gravitational wave should be very meaningful in gravity physics, micro-theory of elementary strong interaction, and astronomy.

11 pages, 3 figures; in: Gravitation and Astrophysics (Proceedings of the IX Asia-Pacific International Conference, 29 June - 2 July, 2009, Wuhan), eds. J. Luo, Z. B. Zhou, H. C. Yeh, and J. P. Hsu, World Scientific, p.162-172