Speaker
Ian Jones
(University of Southampton)
Description
Rotating neutron stars, if deformed away from axisymmetry, produce long-lived gravitational waves. One possible source for such “mountains” is a non-axisymmetric distribution of the neutron superfluid’s vorticity, sustained by vortex pinning to the star’s solid outer crust, or to the magnetic flux tubes in the core. The Magnus force generated distorts the star, giving what we term a “Magnus mountain”. We model this process in an idealised geometry, computing the mass asymmetry generated. Our results will be of use in building more realistic models of Magnus mountains, and help open up a new avenue to probe superfluidity via gravitational wave observations.
Author
Ms
Yashaswi Gangwar
(University of Southampton)
Co-author
Ian Jones
(University of Southampton)