Abstract:
This talk explores whether gravitational waves (GWs) from neutron star (NS) mountains can be detected with current 2nd-generation and future 3rd-generation GW detectors. In particular, we focus on a scenario where transient mountains are formed immediately after a glitch. In a glitch, the NS's spin frequency abruptly increases and then often exponentially relaxes back to, but never quite reaches, the spin frequency prior to the glitch. If the recovery is ascribed to an additional torque due to a transient mountain, we find that GWs from that mountain are not detectable with 2nd generation detectors, but will be for 3rd-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope.