Rena J. Zieve (UC Davis)

eutron stars exhibit „glitches,” where their angular velocity abruptly increases. The source of this unusual behavior is the neutron superfluid within the star. My lab has begun to explore the analogous behavior in superfluid helium: we levitate a bucket of helium, rotate the bucket, and let it slow down while monitoring its angular velocity. In helium too, we observe events with spontaneously increasing angular velocity. Investigating the phenomenon in helium has advantages both for timescale and for exploring how various parameters affect the glitch behavior. I will discuss commonalities in neutron star and helium glitches despite the vast separation in their sizes, temperatures, and pressures. I will also note the differences we observe.