Imprints of the nuclear symmetry energy on the tidal deformability of neutron stars

Applying an equation of state (EOS) constrained by heavy-ion reaction data, we calculate the tidal deformability of neutron stars in coalescing binary systems. We investigate the effects of the high-density behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy on the tidal properties of neutron stars, and discuss their implications for the EOS of dense matter, and the interpretation of recent and future gravitational-wave signals from inspiraling neutron star binaries.