Probing the Neutron Star Interior with Glitches

Abstract

With the aim of constraining the structural properties of neutronstars and the equation of state of dense matter, we study suddenspin-ups, glitches, occurring in the Vela pulsar and in six otherpulsars. We present evidence that glitches represent a self-regulatinginstability for which the star prepares over a waiting time. Theangular momentum requirements of glitches in Vela indicate that atleast 1.4% of the star's moment of inertia drives these events. Ifglitches originate in the liquid of the inner crust, Vela's `radiationradius' R_\infty must exceed ~12 km for a mass of 1.4 solar masses.The isolated neutron star RX J18563-3754 is a promising candidatefor a definitive radius measurement, and offers to further our understandingof dense matter and the origin of glitches.