Magnetized neutral 2SC color superconductivity and possible origin of the inner magnetic field of magnetars

TL;DR

This paper explores how chromomagnetic instabilities in neutral 2SC color superconducting phases could lead to vortex formations that significantly amplify magnetic fields, potentially explaining the strong inner magnetic fields of magnetars.

Contribution

It proposes a novel mechanism where gluon vortices in the neutral 2SC phase amplify magnetic fields, offering a possible origin for magnetar core magnetic fields.

Findings

Meissner masses become tachyonic, indicating instability.

Vortex formation can amplify magnetic fields by orders of magnitude.

The mechanism could generate inner magnetic fields of 10^{17} G in magnetars.

Abstract

In this paper the neutral 2SC phase of color superconductivity is investigated in the presence of a magnetic field and for diquark coupling constants and baryonic densities that are expected to characterize neutron stars. Specifically, the behavior of the charged gluons Meissner masses is investigated in the parameter region of interest taking into account, in addition, the contribution of a rotated magnetic field. It is found that up to moderately-high diquark coupling constants the mentioned Meissner masses become tachyonic independently of the applied magnetic-field amplitude, hence signalizing the chromomagnetic instability of this phase. To remove the instability, the restructuring of the system ground state is proposed, which now will be formed by vortices of the rotated charged gluons. These vortices boost the applied magnetic field having the most significant increase for relatively low applied magnetic fields. Finally, considering that with the stellar rotational frequency observed for magnetars a field of the order of $10^8$ G can be generated by dynamo effect, we show that by the boosting effect just described the field can be amplified to $10^{17}$ G that is in the range of inner core fields expected for magnetars. Thus, we conclude that the described mechanism could be the one responsible for the large fields characterizing magnetars if the cores of these compact objects are formed by neutral 2SC matter.