Vortex Creep Against Toroidal Flux Lines, Crustal Entrainment, and Pulsar Glitches

TL;DR

This paper investigates how vortex creep against toroidal flux lines in neutron star cores influences pulsar glitches, highlighting the role of crustal entrainment and the toroidal flux region in explaining observed postglitch relaxation.

Contribution

It introduces the significance of toroidal flux lines and crustal entrainment in neutron star superfluid dynamics, impacting models of pulsar glitches and neutron star equations of state.

Findings

Toroidal flux lines enable vortex pinning and creep in neutron star cores.

Crustal entrainment affects the superfluid moment of inertia involved in glitches.

Toroidal flux regions contribute to postglitch relaxation consistent with observations.

Abstract

A region of toroidally oriented quantized flux lines must exist in the proton superconductor in the core of the neutron star. This region will be a site of vortex pinning and creep. Entrainment of the neutron superfluid with the crustal lattice leads to a requirement of superfluid moment of inertia associated with vortex creep in excess of the available crustal moment of inertia. This will effect constraints on the equation of state. The toroidal flux region provides the moment of inertia necessary to complement the crust superfluid with postglitch relaxation behavior fitting the observations.