Are Neutron Stars with Crystalline Color-Superconducting Cores Relevant for the LIGO Experiment?

We estimate the maximal deformation that can be sustained by a rotating neutron star with a crystalline color-superconducting quark core. Our results suggest that current gravitational-wave data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory have already reached the level where a detection would have been possible over a wide range of the poorly constrained QCD parameters. This leads to the nontrivial conclusion that compact objects do not contain maximally strained color crystalline cores drawn from this range of parameter space. We discuss the uncertainties associated with our simple model and how it can be improved in the future.