• Accepted Paper

Multipolar neutrino radiation in binary neutron star mergers: Angular structure, rotational variability, and implications for electron fraction

Kutay Arınç Çokluk, Albino Perego, Federico Maria Guercilena, and Kadri Yakut

Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 20 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8nrw-sw93

Abstract

The angular structure and temporal variability of neutrino emission from binary neutron star mergers are characterized using fully general-relativistic simulations with energy-integrated M1 neutrino transport across a representative set of equations of state, total masses and mass ratios. The main analysis is restricted to merger remnants that do not collapse to a black hole within the simulated time intervals. The angle-dependent neutrino energy flux is extracted on a spherical surface outside the remnant and decomposed into spherical harmonics to quantify its multipolar content and evolution. Following the initial post-merger transient, the neutrino radiation flux approaches an axisymmetric configuration dominated by a strong quadrupolar component, producing persistent polar flux enhancement and equatorial suppression due to torus shadowing. The dipolar contribution remains subdominant, indicating the absence of sustained one-sided emission. The degree of anisotropy increases with mass asymmetry and for softer equations of state, reflecting the compactness and morphology of the remnant–disk system. Superimposed on this time-averaged geometry, coherent azimuthal modulations associated with the m=1 mode are identified. The associated half-frequency, fdom/2≃0.6–0.7kHz, is compared with local rotation rates in the simulated remnant–disk systems, suggesting a possible dynamical association between the remnant structure and neutrino variability. Finally, we quantify how the same quadrupole-dominated radiation geometry induces a latitude-dependent equilibrium electron fraction. The polar material is driven close to the neutrino-equilibrium target, whereas equatorial material remains systematically more neutron-rich and below equilibrium.

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