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Neutron stars as type-I superconductors
Kirk B W Buckley1, Max A Metlitski, Ariel R Zhitnitsky
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1.
Physical Review Letters
|June 1, 2004
Summary
The standard neutron star core model conflicts with pulsar observations. A revised model treating interacting superfluids shows neutron stars may be type-I superconductors, altering their internal structure.
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nuclear Physics
Background:
- The standard model of neutron star cores, a mix of neutron superfluid and type-II superconductor, is challenged by observed long-period precession in isolated pulsars.
- Discrepancies suggest a need to re-evaluate the superfluid and superconducting components within neutron star interiors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how a more appropriate treatment of interacting two-component superfluids affects the standard neutron star core model.
- To explore the potential for a type-I superconducting state in neutron stars and its implications for internal structure and magnetic field behavior.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of an interacting two-component superfluid composed of neutron and proton Cooper pairs.
- Modeling the strong modification of proton vortex structures within the superconducting core.
- Examining the expulsion of magnetic fields and the formation of an intermediate state.
Main Results:
- The study demonstrates that modifying proton vortex structure can transform the core into a type-I superconductor.
- In this type-I state, magnetic fields are expelled from superconducting regions.
- This leads to an intermediate state with alternating domains of superconducting and normal matter.
Conclusions:
- The revised model, incorporating modified proton vortex structures, offers a potential resolution to the conflict between theory and pulsar observations.
- Neutron stars may exhibit type-I superconductivity, fundamentally changing our understanding of their internal magnetic field configurations and matter distribution.