Reply to comment on "Searching for Topological Defect Dark Matter via
  Nongravitational Signatures"
  In the comment of Avelino, Sousa and Lobo [arXiv:1506.06028], it is argued,
by comparing the kinetic energy of a topological defect with the overall energy
of a pulsar, that the origin of the pulsar glitch phenomenon due to the passage
of networks of topological defects through pulsars is faced with serious
difficulties. Here, we point out that topological defects may trigger pulsar
glitches within traditional scenarios, such as vortex unpinning. If the energy
transfer from a topological defect exceeds the activation energy for a single
pinned vortex, this may lead to an avalanche of unpinning of vortices and
consequently a pulsar glitch, and therefore the source of angular momentum and
energy required for a glitch event is provided by the pulsar itself. Indeed,
the activation energy for such a process can be very small (essentially zero
compared with the observed increase in the pulsar's rotational kinetic energy
at the onset of a glitch). The unpinning of a vortex by a topological defect
may occur through the passage of the defect into the core of the pulsar.
