Related papers: Pulsar Jets: Implications for Neutron Star Kicks a…
A nascent neutron star may be exposed to fallback accretion soon after the proto-neutron star stage. This high accretion episode can submerge the magnetic field deep in the crust. The diffusion of the magnetic field back to the surface will…
Neutron stars (NSs) obtain kicks of typically several 100 km/s at birth. The gravitational tug-boat mechanism can explain these kicks as consequences of asymmetric mass ejection during the supernova (SN) explosion. Support for this…
We measure the angle between the neutron star (NS) natal kick direction and the inferred direction of jets according to the morphology of 12 core collapse supernova remnants (SNR), and find that the distribution is almost random, but…
We investigate an interesting new class of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) with long orbital periods (P_orb > 30 days) and low eccentricities (e <~ 0.2). The orbital parameters suggest that the neutron stars in these systems did not…
Two entwined problems have remained unresolved since pulsars were discovered nearly 50 years ago: the orientation of their polarized emission relative to the emitting magnetic field and the direction of putative supernova ``kicks' relative…
The neutron star crust is rigid material floating on a neutron-proton liquid core. As the star's spin rate slows, the changing stellar shape stresses the crust and causes fractures. These starquakes may trigger pulsar glitches as well as…
Supernova explosions are inherently asymmetric and can accelerate new-born neutron stars (NSs) to hundreds of km/s. Two prevailing theories to explain NS kicks are ejecta asymmetries (e.g., conservation of momentum between NS and ejecta)…
We show that kicks generated by topological currents may be responsible for the large velocities seen in a number of pulsars. The majority of the kick builds up within the first second of the star's birth and generates a force about two…
As is well known, pulsars are extremely stable rotators. However, although slowly, they spin down thanks to brake mechanisms, which are in fact still subject of intense investigation in the literature. Since pulsars are usually modelled as…
We present strong observational evidence for a relationship between the direction of a pulsar's motion and its rotation axis. We show carefully calibrated polarization data for 25 pulsars, 20 of which display linearly polarized emission…
A newly discovered instability in rotating neutron stars, driven by gravitational radiation reaction acting on the stars' $r$-modes, is shown here to set an upper limit on the spin rate of young neutron stars. We calculate the timescales…
We propose a new neutrino propulsion mechanism for neutron stars which can lead to strong velocity kicks, needed to explain the observed bimodal velocity distribution of pulsars. The spatial asymmetry in the neutrino emission is naturally…
Double neutron stars (DNSs), binary systems consisting of a radio pulsar and a generally undetected second neutron star (NS), have proven to be excellent laboratories for testing the theory of general relativity. The seven systems…
While the dipole magnetic field axis of neutron stars is usually postulated to cross the star's centre, it may be displaced from this location, as it has been recently indicated in the millisecond pulsar J0030+0451. Under these conditions,…
The collapse of a massive star's core, followed by a neutrino-driven, asymmetric supernova explosion, can naturally lead to pulsar recoils and neutron star kicks. Here, we present a two-dimensional, radiation-hydrodynamic simulation in…
The viscosity-driven "spin-flip" instability in newborn magnetars with interior toroidal magnetic fields is re-examined. We calculate the bulk viscosity coefficient ($\zeta$) of cold, $npe \mu$ matter in neutron stars (NS), for selected…
Using three-dimensional (3D) simulations of neutrino-powered supernova explosions we show that the hydrodynamical kick scenario proposed by Scheck et al. on the basis of two-dimensional (2D) models can yield large neutron star (NS) recoil…
Observations of radio pulsars have revealed that they have large velocities which may be greater than 1000 km/s. In this work, the efficacy of an active-sterile neutrino transformation mechanism to provide these large pulsar kicks is…
The magnitudes of the velocity kicks that neutron stars (NSs) obtain at their formation have long been a topic of discussion. In previous work, a novel method was proposed to determine kicks based on the eccentricity of Galactic…
Recent neutron star surface observations corroborate a long-standing theory that neutron stars may be accelerated over extended periods after their birth. We analyze how these prolonged rocket-like accelerations, combined with rapid birth…