Neutron Stars – Cosmic Superfluids and Superconductors
Neutron stars unite many extremes of physics which cannot be recreated on Earth, making them excellent cosmic laboratories to study dense matter. One exciting characteristic is the presence of superfluid and superconducting components in mature neutron stars; macroscopic quantum behaviour that exhibits many similarities to terrestrial systems such as superfluid phases in ultra-cold atomic gases, heavy-ion collisions or superconducting transitions in metals. Although many theoretical models of superfluid and superconducting neutron stars have benefited from our understanding of laboratory condensates, several directions in connecting neutron star astrophysics and low-temperature physics remain little explored. In this talk, I will provide an overview of what we know about superfluid and superconducting neutron star components, and specifically focus on two aspects, pulsar spin-glitches and core superconductivity, where the link to laboratory quantum systems can help us improve our understanding of neutron stars.