Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The quantum phenomenon of spectral flow which has been observed in laboratory superfluids, such as 3He-B, controls the drift velocity of proton type II superconductor vortices in the liquid core of a neutron star and so determines the rate at which magnetic flux can be expelled from the core to the crust. In the earliest and most active phases of the anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters, the rates are low and consistent with a large fraction of the active crustal flux not linking the core. If normal neutrons are present in an appreciable core matter-density interval, the spectral flow force limits flux expulsion in cases of rapid spin-down, such as in the Crab pulsar or in the propeller phase of binary systems.
Author: P. B. Jones
Institution: University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2063686016