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Pulsar glitches and restlessness as a hard superfluidity phenomenon

Nature volume 256, pages 25–27 (1975)Cite this article

Abstract

SEVERAL pulsars1 have “restless” behaviour of the period similar to that of the Crab and Vela pulsars2 which has been explained3 as due to “microquakes” in the crust. A glitch has also been observed1 with, possibly, a new type of signature, in PSR1508+55. We suggest that these phenomena can be explained at least equally well by noisiness in the rate of creep of vorticity through the neutron superfluid in the crust, in almost precise analogy to the well known noisy behaviour of flux creep in hard superconducting magnets4. In addition, even the macroglitches, especially those in the Vela pulsar, may be caused by the catastrophic release of pinned vorticity.

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Author notes

  1. P. W. ANDERSON: Also at: Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK

    P. W. ANDERSON & N. ITOH

  2. Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey

    P. W. ANDERSON

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  1. P. W. ANDERSON
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  2. N. ITOH
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ANDERSON, P., ITOH, N. Pulsar glitches and restlessness as a hard superfluidity phenomenon. Nature 256, 25–27 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/256025a0

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