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Register a new userA Swift gaze into the 2006 March 29th burst forest of SGR 1900+14
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G.L. Israel
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We report on the intense burst ``forest recorded on 2006 March 29 which lasted for ~30s. More than 40 bursts were detected both by BAT and by XRT, seven of which are rare intermediate flares (IFs): several times 10^{42} ergs were released. The BAT data were used to carry out time-resolved spectroscopy in the 14-100keV range down to 8ms timescales. This unique dataset allowed us to test the magnetar model predictions such as the magnetically trapped fireball and the twisted magnetosphere over an unprecedented range of fluxes and with large statistics (in terms of both photons and IFs). We confirmed that a two blackbody component fits adequately the time-resolved and integrated spectra of IFs. However, Comptonization models give comparable good reduced chi^2. Moreover, we found: i) a change of behavior, around ~10^{41} erg/s, above which the softer blackbody shows a sort of saturation while the harder one still grows to a few times 10^{41} erg/s; ii) a rather sharp correlation between temperature and radii of the blackbodies (R^2 prop kT^{-3}), which holds for the most luminous parts of the flares (approximately for L_{tot} > 10^{41} erg/s). Within the magnetar model, the majority of these findings can be accounted for in terms of thermalised emission from the E-mode and O-mode photospheres. Interestingly, the maximum observed luminosity coming from a region of ~15km matches the magnetic Eddington luminosity at the same radius, for a surface dipole field of ~8 x 10^{14} G (virtually equal to the one deduced from the spindown of SGR 1900+14).
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We present evidence of a 6.4 keV emission line during a burst from the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1900+14. The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) monitored this source extensively during its outburst in the summer of 1998. A strong burst observed on August 29, 1998 revealed a number of unique properties. The burst exhibits a precursor and is followed by a long (~ 1000 s) tail modulated at the 5.16 s stellar rotation period. The precursor has a duration of 0.85 s and shows both significant spectral evolution as well as an emission feature centered near 6.4 keV during the first 0.3 s of the event, when the X-ray spectrum was hardest. The continuum during the burst is well fit with an optically thin thermal bremsstrahlung (OTTB) spectrum with the temperature ranging from about 40 to 10 keV. The line is strong, with an equivalent width of 400 eV, and is consistent with Fe K-alpha fluorescence from relatively cool material. If the rest-frame energy is indeed 6.4 keV, then the lack of an observed redshift indicates that the source is at least 80 km above the neutron star surface. We discuss the implications of the line detection in the context of models for SGRs.
After nearly two years of quiescence, the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1900+14 again became burst-active on April 18 2001, when it emitted a large flare, preceded by few weak and soft short bursts. After having detected the X and gamma prompt emission of the flare, BeppoSAX pointed its narrow field X-ray telescopes to the source in less than 8 hours. In this paper we present an analysis of the data from this and from a subsequent BeppoSAX observation, as well as from a set of RossiXTE observations. Our data show the detection of an X-ray afterglow from the source, most likely related to the large hard X-ray flare. In fact, the persistent flux from the source, in 2-10 keV, was initially found at a level $sim$5 times higher than the usual value. Assuming an underlying persistent (constant) emission, the decay of the excess flux can be reasonably well described by a t$^{-0.9}$ law. A temporal feature - a $sim$half a day long bump - is observed in the decay light curve approximately one day after the burst onset. This feature is unprecedented in SGR afterglows. We discuss our results in the context of previous observations of this source and derive implications for the physics of these objects.
We report on observations of SGR 1900+14 made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and BeppoSAX during the April 2001 burst activation of the source. Using these data, we measure the spindown torque on the star and confirm earlier findings that the torque and burst activity are not directly correlated. We compare the X-ray pulse profile to the gamma-ray profile during the April 18 intermediate flare and show that (i) their shapes are similar and (ii) the gamma-ray profile aligns closely in phase with the X-ray pulsations. The good phase alignment of the gamma-ray and X-ray profiles suggests that there was no rapid spindown following this flare of the magnitude inferred for the August 27 giant flare. We discuss how these observations further constrain magnetic field reconfiguration models for the large flares of SGRs.
Spectral and timing studies of Suzaku ToO observations of two SGRs, 1900+14 and 1806-20, are presented. The X-ray quiescent emission spectra were well fitted by a two blackbody function or a blackbody plus a power law model. The non-thermal hard component discovered by INTEGRAL was detected by the PIN diodes and its spectrum was reproduced by the power law model reported by INTEGRAL. The XIS detected periodicity P = 5.1998+/-0.0002 s for SGR 1900+14 and P = 7.6022+/-0.0007 s for SGR 1806-20. The pulsed fraction was related to the burst activity for SGR 1900+14.
Magnetars are a special class of slowly rotating neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields -- at least an order of magnitude larger than those of the normal radio pulsars. The potential evolutionary links and differences between these two types of objects are still unknown; recent studies, however, have provided circumstantial evidence connecting magnetars with very massive progenitor stars. Here we report the discovery of an infrared elliptical ring or shell surrounding the magnetar SGR 1900+14. The appearance and energetics of the ring are difficult to interpret within the framework of the progenitors stellar mass loss or the subsequent evolution of the supernova remnant. We suggest instead that a dust-free cavity was produced in the magnetar environment by the giant flare emitted by the source in August 1998. Considering the total energy released in the flare, the theoretical dust--destruction radius matches well with the observed dimensions of the ring. We conclude that SGR 1900+14 is unambiguously associated with a cluster of massive stars, thereby solidifying the link between magnetars and massive stars.
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