Reconnection of magnetic fields in neutron stars driven by the electron mass term in the triangle anomaly

Abstract

The Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly for massive particles is studied in an external magnetic field. The contributions of the mean spin and the pseudoscalar are accounted for in the quasiclassical approximation. The equation for the evolution of the magnetic helicity with the new quantum corrections is derived. We show that the quantum contribution to the helicity evolution can overcome the classical one in the dense degenerate matter which can be present in the core of a neutron star. The application of the obtained results for the interpretation of magnetar bursts are discussed.