Reply to comment on "Searching for Topological Defect Dark Matter via Nongravitational Signatures"

Abstract

In the comment of Avelino, Sousa and Lobo [arXiv:1506.06028], it is argued, by comparing the kinetic energy of a topological defect with the overall energy of a pulsar, that the origin of the pulsar glitch phenomenon due to the passage of networks of topological defects through pulsars is faced with serious difficulties. Here, we point out that topological defects may trigger pulsar glitches within traditional scenarios, such as vortex unpinning. If the energy transfer from a topological defect exceeds the activation energy for a single pinned vortex, this may lead to an avalanche of unpinning of vortices and consequently a pulsar glitch, and therefore the source of angular momentum and energy required for a glitch event is provided by the pulsar itself. Indeed, the activation energy for such a process can be very small (essentially zero compared with the observed increase in the pulsar's rotational kinetic energy at the onset of a glitch). The unpinning of a vortex by a topological defect may occur through the passage of the defect into the core of the pulsar.