Large Pulsar Kicks from Topological Currents

Abstract

We show that kicks generated by topological currents may be responsible for the large velocities seen in a number of pulsars. The majority of the kick builds up within the first second of the star's birth and generates a force about two orders of magnitude larger than a neutrino kick in the same temperature and magnetic field regime. Because of the nature of the topological currents the star's cooling is not affected until it reaches 10^9 K; thereafter the current replaces neutrino emission as the dominant cooling process. A requirement for the kick to occur is a suitably thin crust on the star; this leads us to speculate that pulsars with large kicks are quark stars and those with small kicks are neutron stars. If true this would be an elegant way to distinguish quark stars from neutron stars.