Stability of precessing superfluid neutron stars.
We discuss a new superfluid instability occurring in the interior of mature neutron stars with implications for free precession. This instability is similar to the instability which is responsible for the formation of turbulence in superfluid helium. We demonstrate that the instability is unlikely to affect slowly precessing systems with weak superfluid coupling. In contrast, fast precession in systems with strong coupling appears to be generically unstable. This raises serious questions about our understanding of neutron star precession and complicates attempts to constrain neutron star interiors using such observations.
Glampedakis
K
K
International School for Advanced Studies and INFN, via Beirut 2-4, 34014 Trieste, Italy.
Andersson
N
N
Jones
D I
DI