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Title: Superfluidity in neutron stars. III. Relaxation processes between the superfluid and the crust

Journal Article · · Astrophys. J.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/156217· OSTI ID:6674775

We calculate the rates for a variety of processes whereby the neutron superfluid within a neutron star exchanges momentum with the charged-particle system with which it coexists. We consider the scattering of the normal neutron fluid within vortex lines from phonons (one- and two-phonon processes) impurities and lattice defects in the crust, and momentum transfer brought about by neutron ..beta..-decay. We neglect vortex pinning, and confine attention to the regime of isotropic superfluidity: that is, for that portion of the superfluid tha coexists with the crust.We then turn to a discussion of the ways in which the results of previous hydrodynamical calculations are altered by our new relaxation rates. Of particular interest is a major discrepancy between the predicted and the observed spin-down of a pulsar after a period jump, a discrepancy that can be resolved by proposing that neutron stars are bigger than has been previously thought.

Research Organization:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
OSTI ID:
6674775
Journal Information:
Astrophys. J.; (United States), Vol. 222:3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English