Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-02-28
Astrophys.J.665:1074-1083,2007
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
28 pages, submitted to ApJ, quicktime movies are available at: http://www.phys.lsu.edu/~ou/movie/s_type/index.html
Scientific paper
10.1086/519785
Using a three-dimensional nonlinear hydrodynamic code, we examine the dynamical stability of more than twenty self-gravitating, compressible, ellipsoidal fluid configurations that initially have the same velocity structure as Riemann S-type ellipsoids. Our focus is on ``adjoint'' configurations, in which internal fluid motions dominate over the collective spin of the ellipsoidal figure; Dedekind-like configurations are among this group. We find that, although some models are stable and some are moderately unstable, the majority are violently unstable toward the development of $m=1$, $m=3$, and higher-order azimuthal distortions that destroy the coherent, $m=2$ bar-like structure of the initial ellipsoidal configuration on a dynamical time scale. The parameter regime over which our models are found to be unstable generally corresponds with the regime over which incompressible Riemann S-type ellipsoids have been found to be susceptible to an elliptical strain instability \citep{LL96}. We therefore suspect that an elliptical instability is responsible for the destruction of our compressible analogs of Riemann ellipsoids. The existence of the elliptical instability raises concerns regarding the final fate of neutron stars that encounter the secular bar-mode instability and regarding the spectrum of gravitational waves that will be radiated from such systems.
Motl Patrick M.
Ou Shangli
Tohline Joel E.
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