Extracting multipole moments of neutron stars from quasi-periodic oscillations in low mass X-ray binaries

We consider the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations of low-mass X-ray binaries within the Hartle-Thorne spacetime. We show that the interpretation of the epicyclic frequencies of this spacetime with the observed kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations, within the Relativistic Precession Model, allows us to extract the total mass M, angular momentum J, and quadrupole moment Q of the compact object in a low-mass X-ray binary. We exemplify this fact by analyzing the data of the Z-source GX 5-1. We show that the extracted multipole structure of the compact component of this source deviates from the one expected from a Kerr black hole and instead it points to a neutron star explanation.