On the effect of the variation of velocity fields in pulsars

Abstract

Glitches are sudden spin-up events of pulsars and are usually thought to be induced by unpinning of neutron superfluid vortices in pulsar crusts. Unpinning and repinning of superfluid vortices, and even thermoelectric effects induced by the deposited heat released during glitches, may vary the velocity fields in pulsars. We show that the generally invoked magnetic dipole fields of pulsars cannot remain stationary during the variation of the velocity fields, so that multipole components must be generated. We argue that the increase of the spark frequency of periodic radio pulses is the indicator for the emergence of the multipole components. Interpretations of pulsar nulling, rebrightening of radio-quiet magnetars, differences between Crab and Vela pulsars after glitches, and extra-galactic fast radio burst-like events from SGR 1935+2154 have been proposed based on the influence of the variation of the velocity field on the magnetic field.