Rotation of the neutron-drip superfluid in pulsars - The interaction and pinning of vortices

Abstract

The movement and pinning of neutronvortices has been studied with reference to the superfluid componentwhose relaxation gives the large discontinuities in angular velocitytime-derivative observed for PSR 0355 + 54 and 0833 - 45. At hightemperatures, early in the life of a pulsar, the vortices are not pinned butmove in almost exact corotation with the superfluid. The balance ofevidence indicates that corotation of vortices and superfluid, which hasconsequences for the interpretation of timing noise and the estimation ofinternal temperatures, persists throughout the life of a pulsar.