The 2016 Vela glitch: a key to neutron star internal structure and dynamics

Abstract

High resolution, pulse to pulse observation of the 2016 Vela glitch and its relaxation provided an opportunity to probe the neutron star internal structure and dynamics with unprecedented detail. We use the observations of this glitch to infer superfluid characteristics in the framework of the vortex creep model. The glitch rise time constraint of 12.6 seconds put stringent limits on the angular momentum exchange between the crustal superfluid and the observed crust. Together with the observed excess acceleration in the rotation rate as compared to the post-glitch equilibrium value this discriminates crustal superfluid-crust lattice and core superfluid-crustal normal matter coupling time-scales. An evident decrease in the crustal rotation rate immediately before the glitch is consistent with the formation of a new vortex trap zone that initiates the large scale vortex unpinning avalanche. Formation of vortex trap by a crust breaking quake induces short-lived magnetospheric changes. The long term post-glitch spin-down rate evolution reveals the moments of inertia and recoupling time-scales of the superfluid layers participating in the glitch and leads to an estimation of the time to the next glitch which agrees with the time interval between the 2016 and 2019 glitches. Our results are consistent with theoretical estimates of effective neutron and proton masses in the superfluid. We also constrain the vortex line-flux tube pinning energy per intersection as 2 MeV.

To appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

References in corpus (35)

• The equation of state for nucleon matter and neutron star structure
• Magnetars
• Unifying the observational diversity of isolated neutron stars via magneto-thermal evolution models
• Detection of 107 glitches in 36 southern pulsars
• The glitch-induced identity changes of PSR J1119-6127
• High time resolution observations of the January 2000 glitch in the Vela pulsar
• Pulsar Braking Indices Revisited
• Gross-Pitaevskii model of pulsar glitches
• Mesoscopic pinning forces in neutron star crusts
• The UTMOST pulsar timing programme II: Timing noise across the pulsar population
• Vortex Creep Against Toroidal Flux Lines, Crustal Entrainment, and Pulsar Glitches
• Two decades of pulsar timing of Vela
• Two-fluid models of superfluid neutron star cores
• Pulsar Braking Indices, Glitches and Energy Dissipation In Neutron Stars
• The Effect of Quantized Magnetic Flux Lines on the Dynamics of Superfluid Neutron Star Cores
• Giant Pulsar Glitches and the Inertia of Neutron-Star Crusts
• The unusual glitch recoveries of the high magnetic field pulsar J1119$-$6127
• Glitch rises as a test for rapid superfluid coupling in neutron stars
• Peculiar Glitch of PSR J1119-6127 and Extension of the Vortex Creep Model
• Global numerical simulations of the rise of vortex-mediated pulsar glitches in full general relativity
• First search for long-duration transient gravitational waves after glitches in the Vela and Crab pulsars
• Microscopic Vortex Velocity in the Inner Crust and Outer Core of Neutron Stars
• Nonlinear interglitch dynamics, the braking index of the Vela pulsar and the time to the next glitch
• Vortex pinning in the superfluid core of neutron stars and the rise of pulsar glitches
• Postglitch exponential relaxation of radio pulsars and magnetars in terms of vortex creep across flux tubes
• A universal formula for the relativistic correction to the mutual friction coupling time-scale in neutron stars
• Characterising the rotational irregularities of the Vela pulsar from 21 yr of phase-coherent timing
• Upgraded antennas for pulsar observations in the Argentine Institute of Radio astronomy
• Results of 12 Years of Pulsar Timing at Nanshan -- I
• Core and crust contributions in overshooting glitches: the Vela pulsar 2016 glitch
• The Largest Crab Glitch and the Vortex Creep Model
• The effect of non-linear mutual friction on pulsar glitch sizes and rise times
• Glitch Behavior of Pulsars and Contribution from Neutron Star Crust
• Observed glitches in 8 young pulsars
• Collective, glitch-like vortex motion in a neutron star with an annular pinning barrier

Cited by in corpus (23)

• Superfluid vortex-mediated mutual friction in non-homogeneous neutron star interiors
• Relativistic finite temperature multifluid hydrodynamics in a neutron star from a variational principle
• Insights into the physics of neutron star interiors from pulsar glitches
• The effect of non-linear mutual friction on pulsar glitch sizes and rise times
• Bayesian estimate of the superfluid moments of inertia from the 2016 glitch in the Vela pulsar
• New pulse profile variability associated with a glitch of PSR J0738-4042
• On the Peculiar Rotational Evolution of PSR B0950+08
• Vortex unpinning due to crustquake initiated neutron excitation and pulsar glitches
• Glitch-induced pulse profile change of PSR J0742-2822 observed from the IAR
• Revisiting the post-glitch relaxation of the 2000 Vela glitch with the neutron star equation of states in the Brueckner and relativistic Brueckner theories
• Pulse profile variability associated with the glitch of PSR J1048$-$5832
• The impact of superconductivity and the Hall effect in models of magnetized neutron stars
• Measuring the vortex-nucleus pinning force from pulsar glitch rates
• Vortex pinning in the superfluid core of relativistic neutron stars
• The ORT and the uGMRT Pulsar Monitoring Program : Pulsar Timing Irregularities & the Gaussian Process Realization
• Exploring nuclear force with pulsar glitch observation
• Study of the 2024 major Vela glitch at the Argentine Institute of Radioastronomy
• Superfluid Spin-up: 3D Simulations of Post-Glitch Dynamics in Neutron Star Cores
• Glitches in four gamma-ray pulsars and inferences on the neutron star structure
• Braking index of the frequently glitching PSR J0537$-$6910
• Hierarchical Bayesian estimation of population-level torque law parameters from anomalous pulsar braking indices
• Flickering of the Vela pulsar during its 2016 glitch
• Measuring the crust-superfluid coupling time-scale for 105 UTMOST pulsars with a Kalman filter