Related papers: The Axial Anomaly and Large Pulsar Kicks
RADIO pulsars are thought to born with spin periods of 0.02-0.5 s and space velocities of 100-1000 km/s, and they are inferred to have initial dipole magnetic fields of 10^{11}-10^{13}. The average space velocity of a normal star in the…
Relativistic jets are observed from accreting and cataclysmic transients throughout the Universe, and have a profound affect on their surroundings. Despite their importance, their launch mechanism is not known. For accreting neutron stars,…
Neutron stars are born out of core-collapse supernovae, and they are imparted natal kicks at birth as a consequence of asymmetric ejection of matter and possibly neutrinos. Unless the force resulting from the kicks is exerted exactly at…
It is argued that the surface radius of a compact source can not be less than its gravitational radius due to the strong gravitational time dilation effects. The such "topological" difference between the Newtonian and relativistic gravity…
We derive the energy asymmetry given the proto-neutronstar during the time when the neutrino sphere is near the surface of the proto-neutron star, using the modified URCA process. The electrons produced with the anti-neutrinos are in Landau…
We explore the enigmatic population of long-period, apparently non-recycled pulsars in globular clusters, building on recent work by Boyles et al (2011). This population is difficult to explain if it formed through typical core collapse…
Supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars, create heavy elements and form black holes and neutron stars. These compact objects often receive a velocity at formation, a "kick" whose physical origin remains debated. We investigate…
If rotating core collapse leads to the formation of a proto-neutron star binary in super-close orbit, then the lighter star, propelled toward the minimum stable mass, explodes. The neutron star (or black hole) that remains acquires a…
The high frequency oscillations discovered in the tails of giant flares from two magnetars are thought to be the first direct detections of seismic vibrations from neutron stars. The possibility of starquakes associated with the giant…
It is now believed that pulsars comprise the fastest population of stars in the galaxy. With inferred mean, root-mean-square, and maximum 3-D pulsar speeds of $\sim$300-500 km/s, $\sim$500 km/s, and $\sim$2000 km/s, respectively, the…
A convincing explanation for the observed pulsar large peculiar velocities is still missing. We argue that any viable particle physics solution would most likely involve the resonant production of a non-interacting neutrino $\nu_s$ of mass…
A power expansion scheme is set up to determine the Wigner function that satisfies the quantum kinetic equation for spin-1/2 charged fermions in a background electromagnetic field. Vector and axial-vector current induced by magnetic field…
Radial velocity observations of K giants have revealed periodic variations for some of the stars. The periods range from approximately 180 to 1000 or more days with velocity amplitudes ranging from approximately 50 m/s to 500 m/s. Except…
In this Letter we re-examine the idea that gravitational waves are required as a braking mechanism to explain the observed maximum spin-frequency of neutron stars. We show that for millisecond X-ray pulsars, the existence of spin…
The absence or presence of extremely wide binaries with a radio pulsar and an optical counterpart imposes a strong constraint on the existence and magnitude of kicks in supernova explosions. We search for such systems by comparing the…
We have recently proposed an explanation for the birth velocities of pulsars as resulting from asymmetries due to neutrino oscillations in the cooling protoneutron star. A specific prediction of this mechanism is that the correlation of…
We examine the recoil velocity induced by the superposition of the magnetic dipole and quadrupole radiation from a pulsar/magnetar born with rapid rotation. The resultant velocity depends on not the magnitude, but rather the ratio of the…
In magnetized proto-neutron stars, neutrino cross sections depend asymmetrically on the neutrino momenta due to parity violation. However, these asymmetric opacities do not induce any asymmetric flux in the bulk interior of the star where…
In this letter a pinch velocity of toroidal momentum is shown to exist for the first time. Using the gyro-kinetic equations in the frame moving with the equilibrium toroidal velocity, it is shown that the physics effect can be elegantly…
Shear-driven turbulence in the superfluid interior of a neutron star exerts a fluctuating torque on the rigid crust, causing the rotational phase to walk randomly. The phase fluctuation spectrum is calculated analytically for incompressible…