Constraint on the maximum mass of neutron stars using GW170817 event

Abstract

We revisit the constraint on the maximum mass of cold spherical neutron stars coming from the observational results of GW170817. We develop a new framework for the analysis by employing both energy and angular momentum conservation laws as well as solid results of latest numerical-relativity simulations and of neutron stars in equilibrium. The new analysis shows that the maximum mass of cold spherical neutron stars can be only weakly constrained as ${M}_{\mathrm{max}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}2.3\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. Our present result illustrates that the merger remnant neutron star at the onset of collapse to a black hole is not necessarily rapidly rotating and shows that we have to take into account the angular momentum conservation law to impose the constraint on the maximum mass of neutron stars.