  Gravitational waves from neutron-star mergers are expected to provide
stringent constraints on the structure of neutron stars. At the same time,
recent advances in nuclear theory have enabled reliable calculations of the low
density equation of state using effective field theory based Hamiltonians and
advanced techniques to solve the quantum many-body problem. In this paper, we
address how the first observation of gravitational waves from GW170817 can be
combined with modern calculations of the equation of state to extract useful
insights about the equation of state of matter encountered inside neutron
stars. We analyze the impact of various uncertainties and we show that the
tidal deformability extracted from GW170817 is compatible, while less
constraining, than modern nuclear physics knowledge.
