Proximity effects of vortices in neutron $^3P_2$ superfluids in neutron stars: Vortex core transitions and covalent bonding of vortex molecules

TL;DR

This paper explores the interactions and phase transitions of vortex molecules in neutron $^3P_2$ superfluids within neutron stars, revealing dimerization, core order changes, and polarization transitions influenced by magnetic fields and rotation speeds.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of vortex molecule proximity effects, including phase diagrams and novel covalent-like bonding mechanisms in neutron star superfluids.

Findings

Vortex molecules form covalent bonds analogous to chemical molecules.

Transition from ferromagnetic to cyclic core order as vortex molecules approach.

No dimerization occurs above the critical magnetic field.

Abstract

Neutron $^3P_2$ superfluids consisting of neutron pairs with the total angular momentum $J=2$ with spin-triplet and $P$-wave are believed to be realized in neutron star cores. Within the Ginzburg-Landau theory it was previously found that a singly quantized vortex is split into two half-quantized non-Abelian vortices connected by one (or three) soliton(s) forming a vortex molecule with the soliton bond(s), in the absence (presence) of magnetic field parallel to them. In this paper, we investigate proximity effects of two vortex molecules by exhausting all possible two vortex molecule states consisting of four half-quantized vortices and determining the phase diagram spanned by the magnetic field and rotation speed. As the rotation speed is increased, the distance between the two vortex molecules becomes shorter. In the magnetic field below the critical value, we find that as the rotation speed is increased, the two separated vortex molecules transit to a dimerized vortex molecule, where the two vortex molecules are bridged by two solitons that we call "covalent bonds" in analogy with chemical molecules. We also find that the orders of the constituent half-quantized vortex cores transit from a ferromagnetic order to a cyclic order as the vortex molecules come closer. On the other hand, no dimerization occurs in the magnetic field above the critical value. Instead, we find a transition for the polarization direction of the vortex molecules from a configuration parallel to the separation to one perpendicular to the separation as they come closer. We also show some examples of three and four vortex molecule states.