Magnetic fields may significatly complicate how scientists interpret gravitational wave signals from neutron star mergers, a new study has revealed. These collisions, where two super - dense stellar remnants merge, have long offered astrophysicists a way to probe matter under extreme pressure. The results from the University of Illionis Urbana-Champaign and the University of Valencia reveal that robust magnitic fields form more complex and lengthy patterns in gravitational waves, thereby making it harder to decipher the inner workings of neutron stars. Results could doom post-merger signal interpretation strategies and the equation of states of dense matter as scientists prepare to observe the next generation of gravitational wave observatories.

Magnetic fields found to distort Frequency Signals in Neutron Star Mergers.

As per the study published in Physical Review Letters, the researchers simulated general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics - how the strength and arrangement of magnetic fields affect the frequency signals from the remnants left behind after a merger. They went represent realworld conditions by applying two different equations of state (EoS) for neutron stars, different magnetic field configurations and several mass combinations.

According to lead researcher Antonios Tsokaros, the magnetic field can cause frequency shifts that can misdentify scientists into misattributing them as indications of other physical phenomena like phase transitions or quark-hadron crossover.

The discoveries also imply that scientist need to be cautious about how they interpret signals from neutron star mergers, lest they slip into assuming how they form. They found that strong magnetic fields can change the emitted signal's typical oscillation frequency, shifting them form what they should be and from what was predicted by one or another of the competing equations of state at play within these ferocious events.

They also discovered that in the most straight forward type of galaxy mergers they considered in their simulations, the magnetic field became overly amplified so that a greater proportion of the remnant of the merger are more likely to produce further gravitational wave emissions.

Magnetic fields hold key to Unlocking Secrets of Newtron Star Merger

Neutron stars are what remains of massive stars that have collapsed, and they contain matter so dense that a full teaspoon would weigh billions of tonnes. They have thermodynamic properties that are determined by the EoS and magnetic fields, some orders of magnitude stronger than those that one can produce in a human laboratory. 

These exreme features also make neutron stars useful for probing the laws of physics under intense pressure and magnetism. Ever since it was detected in both gravitational waves and gamma rays in 2017, the scientific community has been buzzing about research on neutron star mergers, leading to ever-growing numbers of studies related to these types of mergers.

Professor Milton Ruiz also warns that it would be a mistake to misinterpret observations in the future without considering the effects of the magnetic fields. Higher resolution simulations are needed, the researchers said, to refine our under standing of how magnetic fields shape cosmic happeinings, and endeavours like the Eintein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer loom on the horizon