Neutron Star Glitches: Solved in the Lab ⚡ экспресс
Neutron stars are unique laboratories for testing quantum physics on kilometer scales. Their glitches—sudden spin-ups—are linked to the dynamics of pinned quantum vortices in superfluid phases. Experiments with superfluid helium in aerogels demonstrate phenomenology that provides an attractive analogy for neutron star physics. We constructed a point-vortex model that allowed us to extract two regimes of vortex dynamics and confirm the microscopic mechanism of extremely strong pinning. In 'crust-like' aerogel, vortices unpin when the superflow exceeds a critical velocity, whereas in 'core-like' aerogel, pinned vortices do not release, and changes in rotation are compensated by the avalanche-like birth of new vortices. These results are applicable to neutron stars and could radically change the analysis of observational data.
A neutron star is a spinning top with the mass of the Sun, crushed to the size of a city. It's born in the fire of a supernova and usually only slows its spin. But sometimes, for no apparent reason, it suddenly speeds up — such a jerk is called a glitch. Many neutron stars become pulsars: they beam out rigid radio pulses like cosmic lighthouses. Their discovery in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell gave the first clue to these extreme objects.
Inside the star, matter enters a frictionless state — superfluidity. In the lab, its role was played by porous aerogel soaked with superfluid helium. It turned out that in the outer layer, akin to a crust, tiny whirlpools (quantum vortices) break loose and slide when the spin is too fast. But in the dense core, they stick tight to the pores, and the slightest change triggers an avalanche of new vortices. Both processes whip the star forward, like a gust of wind spinning a top. A surprise: glitches aren't a nuisance, but a gift. By tracking these jerks, like seismic waves, we can peer into the star's interior, beyond the reach of any telescope. The concept of neutron stars was laid down by Fritz Zwicky and the calculations of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and now the lab analog turns every glitch into a session of cosmic tomography.
🎯 A typical glitch changes the star's rotation period by one billionth of a second. To put it in perspective: if Earth jerked like that, the day would lengthen by a hair, but the planet itself would crack from the stress.
🎬 In David Brin's novel 'Startide Rising', intelligent beings live on a neutron star, exploiting its complex rotational dynamics.