arXiv subjects

Bennett Link

Publications and source records attributed to Bennett Link.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Flux predictions of high-energy neutrinos from pulsars

Young, rapidly rotating neutron stars could accelerate ions from their surface to energies of $\sim 1$ PeV. If protons reach such energies, they will produce pions (with low probability) through resonant scattering with x-rays from the stellar surface. The pions subsequently decay to produce muon neutrinos. Here we calculate the energy spectrum of muon neutrinos, and estimate the event rates at Earth. The spectrum consists of a sharp rise at $\sim 50$ TeV, corresponding to the onset of the resonance, above which the flux drops with neutrino energy as $ε_ν^{-2}$ up to an upper-energy cut-off that is determined by either kinematics or by the maximum energy to which protons are accelerated. We estimate event rates as high as 10-100 km^${-2}$ yr$^{-1}$ from some candidates, a flux that would be easily detected by IceCube. Lack of detection would allow constraints on the energetics of the poorly-understood pulsar magnetosphere.

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arXiv2005

Precession of the Isolated Neutron Star PSR B1828-11

Stairs, Lyne & Shemar have found that arrival time residuals from PSR B1828-11 vary periodically with a period of 500 days. This behavior can be accounted for by precession of the radiopulsar, an interpretation that is reinforced by the detection of variations in its pulse profile on the same timescale. Here, we model the period residuals from PSR B1828-11 in terms of precession of a triaxial rigid body. We include two contributions to the residuals: (i) the geometric effect, which arises because the times at which the pulsar emission beam points toward the observer varies with precession phase; (ii) the spindown contribution, which arises from any dependence of the spindown torque acting on the pulsar on the angle between its spin and magnetic axes. We use the data to probe numerous properties of the pulsar, most notably its shape, and the dependence of its spindown torque on the angle between its spin and magnetic axes, for which we assume a sum of a spin-aligned component (with a weight 1-a) and a dipolar component perpendicular to the magnetic beam axis (weight a), rather than the vacuum dipole torque (a=1). We find that a variety of shapes are consistent with the residuals, with a slight statistical preference for a prolate star. Moreover, a range of torque possibilities fit the data equally well, with no strong preference for the vacuum model. In the case of a prolate star we find evidence for an angle-dependent spindown torque. Our results show that the combination of geometrical and spin-down effects associated with precession can account for the principal features of PSR B1828-11's timing behavior, without fine tuning of the parameters.

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arXiv2003

Constraining Hadronic Superfluidity with Neutron Star Precession

I show that the standard picture of the neutron star core containing coexisting neutron and proton superfluids, with the proton component forming a type II superconductor threaded by flux tubes, is inconsistent with observations of long-period (~1 yr) precession in isolated pulsars. I conclude that either the two superfluids coexist nowhere in the stellar core, or the core is a type I superconductor rather than type II. Either possibility would have interesting implications for neutron star cooling and theories of spin jumps (glitches).

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arXiv2002

Precession of Isolated Neutron Stars

I summarize the evidence for precession of isolated neutron stars and theoretical effort to understand the observations. I discuss factors that might set the precession period, describe constraints on the material properties of the crust, and conclude with a brief discussion of possible sources of stress that would deform a neutron star to the extent required.

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arXiv2002

The Crustal Rigidity of a Neutron Star, and Implications for PSR 1828-11 and other Precession Candidates

We calculate the crustal rigidity parameter, b, of a neutron star (NS), and show that b is a factor 40 smaller than the standard estimate due to Baym & Pines (1971). For a NS with a relaxed crust, the NS's free-precession frequency is directly proportional to b. We apply our result for b to PSR 1828-11, a 2.5 Hz pulsar that appears to be precessing with period 511 d. Assuming this 511-d period is set by crustal rigidity, we show that this NS's crust is not relaxed, and that its reference spin (roughly, the spin for which the crust is most relaxed) is 40 Hz, and that the average spindown strain in the crust is 5 \times 10^{-5}. We also briefly describe the implications of our b calculation for other well-known precession candidates.

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arXiv2001

Simulations of Glitches in Isolated Pulsars

Many radio pulsars exhibit glitches wherein the star's spin rate increases fractionally by $\sim 10^{-10} - 10^{-6}$. Glitches are ascribed to variable coupling between the neutron star crust and its superfluid interior. With the aim of distinguishing among different theoretical explanations for the glitch phenomenon, we study the response of a neutron star to two types of perturbations to the vortex array that exists in the superfluid interior: 1) thermal motion of vortices pinned to inner crust nuclei, initiated by sudden heating of the crust, (e.g., a starquake), and 2) mechanical motion of vortices, (e.g., from crust cracking by superfluid stresses). Both mechanisms produce acceptable fits to glitch observations in four pulsars, with the exception of the 1989 glitch in the Crab pulsar, which is best fit by the thermal excitation model. The two models make different predictions for the generation of internal heat and subsequent enhancement of surface emission. The mechanical glitch model predicts a negligible temperature increase. For a pure and highly-conductive crust, the thermal glitch model predicts a surface temperature increase of as much as $\sim$ 2%, occurring several weeks after the glitch. If the thermal conductivity of the crust is lowered by a high concentration of impurities, however, the surface temperature increases by $\sim$ 10% about a decade after a thermal glitch. A thermal glitch in an impure crust is consistent with the surface emission limits following the January 2000 glitch in the Vela pulsar. Future surface emission measurements coordinated with radio observations will constrain glitch mechanisms and the conductivity of the crust.

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arXiv2001

Precession Interpretation of the Isolated Pulsar PSR B1828-11

Pulse timing of the isolated pulsar PSR B1882-11 shows strong Fourier power at periods ~1000, 500 and 250 d, correlated with changes in the pulse profile (Stairs, Lyne & Shemar 2000). We study the extent to which these data can be explained by precession of the star's rigid crust coupled to the magnetic dipole torque. We find that the correlated changes in the pulse duration and spin period derivative can be explained as precession at a period of ~500 d with a wobble angle of ~3 deg if the star's dipole moment is nearly orthogonal to its symmetry axis. The dipole torque produces a harmonic at ~250 d. Comparison of the predicted spin dynamics with the observed pulse durations requires the radio beam to have a non-standard ``hour-glass'' shape. We make predictions of variations in beam polarization and pulse profile with which to test this interpretation. The precession interpretation of PSR B1828-11 seriously challenges the current understanding of the liquid interior of the neutron star. In particular, if the internal liquid is in a superfluid state, its rotational vortices cannot be significantly pinned to the crust.

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arXiv2000

Starquake-Induced Glitches in Pulsars

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 the jumps in spin-down rate that are observed to persist after some glitches. Earlier studies found that starquakes in spinning-down neutron stars push matter toward the magnetic poles, causing temporary misalignment of the star's spin and angular momentum. After the star relaxes to a new equilibrium orientation, the magnetic poles are closer to the equator, and the magnetic braking torque is increased. The magnitude and sign of the predicted torque changes are in agreement with the observed persistent spin-down offsets. Here we examine the relaxation processes by which the new equilibrium orientation is reached. We find that the neutron superfluid in the inner crust slows as the star's spin realigns with the angular momentum, causing the crust to spin more rapidly. For plausible parameters the time scale and the magnitude of the crust's spin up agree with the giant glitches in the Vela and other pulsars.

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arXiv2000

Probing the Neutron Star Interior with Glitches

With the aim of constraining the structural properties of neutron stars and the equation of state of dense matter, we study sudden spin-ups, glitches, occurring in the Vela pulsar and in six other pulsars. We present evidence that glitches represent a self-regulating instability for which the star prepares over a waiting time. The angular momentum requirements of glitches in Vela indicate that at least 1.4% of the star's moment of inertia drives these events. If glitches originate in the liquid of the inner crust, Vela's `radiation radius' $R_\infty$ must exceed ~12 km for a mass of 1.4 solar masses. The isolated neutron star RX J18563-3754 is a promising candidate for a definitive radius measurement, and offers to further our understanding of dense matter and the origin of glitches.

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arXiv1999

Quaking Neutron Stars

Gravitational, magnetic and superfluid forces can stress the crust of an evolving neutron star. Fracture of the crust under these stresses could affect the star's spin evolution and generate high-energy emission. We study the growth of strain in the crust of a spinning down, magnetized neutron star and examine the initiation of crust cracking (a {\em starquake}). In preliminary work (Link, Franco & Epstein 1998), we studied a homogeneous model of a neutron star. Here we extend this work by considering a more realistic model of a solid, homogeneous crust afloat on a liquid core. In the limits of astrophysical interest, our new results qualitatively agree with those from the simpler model: the stellar crust fractures under shear stress at the rotational equator, matter moves to higher latitudes and the star's oblateness is reduced. Magnetic stresses favor faults directed toward the magnetic poles. Thus our previous conclusions concerning the star's spin response still hold; namely, asymmetric redistribution of matter excites damped precession which could ultimately lead to an increase in the spin-down torque. Starquakes associated with glitches could explain the permanent {\em offsets} in period derivative observed to follow glitches in at least three pulsars.

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arXiv1999

Gamma Ray Bursts with peculiar temporal asymmetry

Based on the study of temporal asymmetry of 631 gamma ray bursts from the BATSE 3B catalog by Link and Epstein [Ap J 466, 764 (1996)], we identify the population of bursts whose rising times are longer than their decays, thus showing atypical profiles. We analyse their sky distribution, morphology, time-space clustering and other average properties and compare them with those associated with the bulk of the bursts. We show how most of the peculiar bursts analysed are consistent with recent fireball models, but a fraction of bursts ($\sim 4$% of the total sample) appear to be inconsistent.

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arXiv1998

Superfluid Friction and Late-time Thermal Evolution of Neutron Stars

The recent temperature measurements of the two older isolated neutron stars PSR 1929+10 and PSR 0950+08 (ages of $3\times 10^6$ and $2\times 10^7$ yr, respectively) indicate that these objects are heated. A promising candidate heat source is friction between the neutron star crust and the superfluid it is thought to contain. We study the effects of superfluid friction on the long-term thermal and rotational evolution of a neutron star. Differential rotation velocities between the superfluid and the crust (averaged over the inner crust moment of inertia) of $\barω\sim 0.6$ rad s$^{-1}$ for PSR 1929+10 and $\sim 0.02$ rad s$^{-1}$ for PSR 0950+08 would account for their observed temperatures. These differential velocities could be sustained by pinning of superfluid vortices to the inner crust lattice with strengths of $\sim$ 1 MeV per nucleus. Pinned vortices can creep outward through thermal fluctuations or quantum tunneling. For thermally-activated creep, the coupling between the superfluid and crust is highly sensitive to temperature. If pinning maintains large differential rotation ($\sim 10$ rad s$^{-1}$), a feedback instability could occur in stars younger than $\sim 10^5$ yr causing oscillations of the temperature and spin-down rate over a period of $\sim 0.3 t_{\rm age}$. For stars older than $\sim 10^6$ yr, however, vortex creep occurs through quantum tunneling, and the creep velocity is too insensitive to temperature for a thermal-rotational instability to occur. These older stars could be heated through a steady process of superfluid friction.

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arXiv1998

Starquake-induced Magnetic Field and Torque Evolution in Neutron Stars

The persistent increases in spin-down rate offsets seen to accompany glitches in the Crab and other pulsars suggest increases in the spin-down torque. We interpret these offsets as due to starquakes occurring as the star spins down and the rigid crust becomes less oblate. We study the evolution of strain in the crust, the initiation of starquakes, and possible consequences for magnetic field and torque evolution. Crust cracking occurs as equatorial material shears under the compressive forces arising from the star's decreasing circumference, and matter moves to higher latitudes along a fault inclined to the equator. A starquake is most likely to originate near one of the two points on the rotational equator farthest from the magnetic poles. The material breaks along a fault approximately aligned with the magnetic poles. We suggest that the observed offsets come about when a starquake perturbs the star's mass distribution, producing a misalignment of the angular momentum and spin axes. Subsequently, damped precession to a new rotational state increases the angle alpha between the rotation and magnetic axes. The resulting increase in external torque appears as a permanent increase in the spin-down rate. Repeated starquakes would continue to increase alpha, making the pulsar more of an orthogonal rotator.

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arXiv1997

Evidence for Brightness-Dependent Anisotropy of Gamma Ray Bursts and Its Galactic Intepretation

We show that the brighter gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the BATSE 3B catalog concentrate slightly toward the Galactic plane and center, suggesting that at least some bursts originate within the Galaxy. To develop an interpretation of this brightness-dependent anisotropy, we consider GRBs distributed in a thick disk centered on the Galaxy. As an approximation to the true luminosity distribution, we divide bursts into two distinct luminosity classes. Most bursts originate from low-luminosity, nearby sources while the relatively few high-luminosity sources trace the shape of the thick disk. We find that characteristic disk dimensions as small as 20 kpc in thickness and 30 kpc in radial extent can match the observed brightness-dependent anisotropy as well as the number-flux distribution; these dimensions are smaller than previously considered viable. For bursts distributed in a disk of these compact dimensions, the low-luminosity sources must have peak powers of $\lapprox 5\times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and rate densities of $\gapprox 5\times 10^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-3}$. The high-luminosity sources must have a peak luminosity of $\simeq 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ but their rate density need be only 5% or less than that of the low-luminosity sources. If the Andromeda Galaxy contained a similar population of high-luminosity sources, their peak gamma-ray fluxes would be less than $\sim 0.1$ s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, making their detection problematic. Statistical analyses of the gamma-ray burst events obtained since the compilation of the 3B catalog will determine whether the thick-disk interpretation is preferred over the isotropic one.

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arXiv1996

Statistics of Gamma Ray Burst Temporal Asymmetry

We study the temporal asymmetry of over 600 bursts from the BATSE 3B catalog, encompassing a 200-fold range in peak flux. By comparing the rates of rise and fall of the flux near the highest burst peak, we find that about two-thirds of the bursts exhibit a preferred asymmetry in the sense that the flux rises more rapidly than it falls, confirming the conclusions of previous studies employing smaller databases. The statistical significance of the average time asymmetry of the sample is $>99.999$%; therefore, models that predict time symmetry of the burst profile are ruled out. We find no statistically significant correlation between burst temporal asymmetry and peak. This result is consistent with both cosmological and local interpretations of the gamma ray burst phenomenon.

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