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Abstract

Gravitational Waves from Pulsar Glitches: A Quantum Fluids Laboratory

Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy will revolutionize our understanding of neutron star interiors and the physics of quantum fluids at nuclear densities. Recent observational and theoretical progress is reviewed, emphasizing how GWs can be exploited to probe the collective processes in superfluids that cause pulsar glitches. Calculations are presented of the stochastic GW signal emitted by superfluid turbulence in a glitching pulsar, the burst signal emitted by superfluid vortex motion during the glitch itself, and the long-lived (days/weeks) periodic signal during the exponential relaxation phase after a glitch. These three classes of signal represent new, promising targets for ground-based interferometers. It is shown how a GW detection can be inverted to measure the viscosity and compressibility of bulk nuclear matter and its state of superfluidity. The results are linked to radio pulsar timing data from the Parkes Multibeam Survey. It is shown that a new picture of glitch physics emerges when size and waiting-time statistics are disaggregated, partially resolving the long-standing homogeneity and scale-invariance paradoxes. The prospects for future joint radio-GW observations are discussed.

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