Gravitational waves (GWs) provide unobscured insight into the birthplace of neutron stars and black holes in core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). The nuclear equation of state (EOS) describing these dense environments is yet uncertain, and variations in its prescription affect the proto−neutron star (PNS) and the post-bounce dynamics in CCSN simulations, subsequently impacting the GW emission. We perform axisymmetric simulations of CCSNe with Skyrme-type EOSs to study how the GW signal and PNS convection zone are impacted by two experimentally accessible EOS parameters, (1) the effective mass of nucleons, m⋆, which is crucial in setting the thermal dependence of the EOS, and (2) the isoscalar incompressibility modulus, Ksat. While Ksat shows little impact, the peak frequency of the GWs has a strong effective mass dependence due to faster contraction of the PNS for higher values of m⋆ owing to a decreased thermal pressure. These more compact PNSs also exhibit more neutrino heating, which drives earlier explosions and correlates with the GW amplitude via accretion plumes striking the PNS, exciting the oscillations. We investigate the spatial origin of the GWs and show the agreement between a frequency-radial distribution of the GW emission and a perturbation analysis. We do not rule out overshoot from below via PNS convection as another moderately strong excitation mechanism in our simulations. We also study the combined effect of effective mass and rotation. In all our simulations we find evidence for a power gap near ∼1250 Hz; we investigate its origin and report its EOS dependence.

We study the consequences of a hadron-quark phase transition (PT) in failing core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) that give birth to stellar-mass black holes (BH). We perform a suite of neutrino-transport general-relativistic hydrodynamic simulations in spherical symmetry with 21 progenitor models and a hybrid equation of state (EoS) including hadrons and quarks. We find that the effect of the PT on the CCSN postbounce dynamics is a function of the bounce compactness parameter xi(2.2). For xi(2.2) greater than or similar to 0.24, the PT leads to a second dynamical collapse of the protocompact star (PCS). While BH formation starts immediately after this second collapse for models with xi(2.2) greater than or similar to 0.51, the PCS experiences a second bounce and oscillations for models with 0.24 less than or similar to x xi(2.2) less than or similar to 0.51. These models emit potent oscillatory neutrino signals with a period of similar to 1 ms for tens of milliseconds after the second bounce, which can be a strong indicator of the PT in failing CCSNe if detected in the future. However, no shock revival occurs and BH formation inevitably takes place in our spherically symmetric simulations. Furthermore, via a diagram of mass-specific entropy evolution of the PCS, the progenitor dependence can be understood through the appearance of a third family of compact stars emerging at large entropy induced by the PT.

A first-order quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition (PT) may take place in the protocompact star (PCS) produced by a core-collapse supernova (CCSN). In this work, we study the consequences of such a PT in a nonrotating CCSN with axisymmetric hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the PT leads to the collapse of the PCS and results in a loud burst of gravitational waves (GWs). The amplitude of this GW burst is similar to 30 times larger than the postbounce GW signal normally found for nonrotating CCSN. It shows a broad peak at high frequencies (similar to 2500-4000 Hz) in the spectrum, has a duration of less than or similar to 5 ms, and carries similar to 3 orders of magnitude more energy than the other episodes. Also, the peak frequency of the PCS oscillation increases dramatically after the Fr-induced collapse. In addition to a second neutrino burst, the GW signal, if detected by the ground-based GW detectors, is decisive evidence of the first-order QCD PT inside CCSNe and provides key information about the structure and dynamics of the PCS.