Spin effects in superfluidity, neutron matter and neutron stars
astro-ph.HE, nucl-th
Submitted: 2026-04-03
Updated: 2026-09-20
Comments: Invited review article for Science Advances, v2: 42 pages, 7 figures, matches published version
Journal ref: Sci. Adv. 12, eaef0431 (2026)
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: We review selected aspects of the interior physics of compact stars, focusing on the microscopic and macroscopic manifestations of spin, magnetic fields, and nucleonic superfluidity and
Terminology
Abstract
We review selected aspects of the interior physics of compact stars, focusing on the microscopic and macroscopic manifestations of spin, magnetic fields, and nucleonic superfluidity and superconductivity. Spin statistics of fermions allow quantum degeneracy pressure to determine the stability and global properties of neutron stars, whose structure depends sensitively on the strong interactions among baryons in dense matter. Using a generic metamodeling framework based on an expansion of the nuclear energy density around the isospin-symmetric and saturation-density limits, we highlight how various lesser-known terms in this expansion affect compact-star observables and review multimessenger constraints on mass, radius, and moment of inertia. The influence of magnetic fields on dense matter is examined, showing that substantial effects in their structure require extremely strong fields, whereas lower fields are sufficient to affect their superfluid phases. At the mesoscopic scale, the coexistence of superfluid and superconducting components features vortex and flux-tube lattices, with pinning and mutual friction processes playing central roles in neutron-star rotational dynamics. We discuss unresolved issues concerning vortex structure, flux-tube configurations, and the origin of pulsar glitches and postglitch relaxation. We also briefly address the possible emergence of deconfined quark phases in compact-star cores, including their color-superconducting properties, as well as the associated vortex structures and magnetic-field responses in such phases.
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