Abrikosov Gluon Vortices in Color Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper explores how strong magnetic fields induce Abrikosov gluon vortices in color superconductors, leading to magnetic field amplification in compact stars and potentially explaining neutron star glitches.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of gluon vortices in color superconductors under strong magnetic fields and discusses their astrophysical implications.

Findings

Gluon vortices form at magnetic fields near the gluon Meissner mass.

Gluon vortices cause magnetic field antiscreening due to anomalous magnetic moments.

Possible link between gluon vortices and neutron star glitches.

Abstract

In this talk I will discuss how the in-medium magnetic field can influence the gluon dynamics in a three-flavor color superconductor. It will be shown how at field strengths comparable to the charged gluon Meissner mass a new phase can be realized, giving rise to Abrikosov's vortices of charged gluons. In that phase, the inhomogeneous gluon condensate anti-screens the magnetic field due to the anomalous magnetic moment of these spin-1 particles. This paramagnetic effect can be of interest for astrophysics, since due to the gluon vortex antiscreening mechanism, compact stars with color superconducting cores could have larger magnetic fields than neutron stars made up entirely of nuclear matter. I will also discuss a second gluon condensation phenomenon connected to the Meissner instability attained at moderate densities by two-flavor color superconductors. In this situation, an inhomogeneous condensate of charged gluons emerges to remove the chromomagnetic instability created by the pairing mismatch, and as a consequence, the charged gluonic currents induce a magnetic field. Finally, I will point out a possible relation between glitches in neutron stars and the existence of the gluon vortices.