Magnetar

About: Magnetar is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2905 publications have been published within this topic receiving 106806 citations.

Discovery of hard non-thermal pulsed X-ray emission from the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 1841-045

Abstract: We report the discovery of non-thermal pulsed X-ray/soft gamma-ray emission up to about 150 keV from the anomalous X-ray pulsar AXP 1E 1841-045 located near the centre of supernova remnant Kes 73 using RXTE PCA and HEXTE data. The morphology of the double-peaked pulse profile changes rapidly with energy from 2 keV up to about 8 keV, above which the pulse shape remains more or less stable. The pulsed spectrum is very hard, its shape above 10 keV can be described well by a power law with a photon index of 0.94 +/- 0.16. 1E 1841-045 is the first AXP for which such very-hard pulsed emission has been detected, which points to an origin in the magnetosphere of a magnetar.

Astrophysical origins of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays

Abstract: In the first part of this review we discuss the basic observational features at the end of the cosmic ray (CR) energy spectrum. We also present there the main characteristics of each of the experiments involved in the detection of these particles. We then briefly discuss the status of the chemical composition and the distribution of arrival directions of CRs. After that, we examine the energy losses during propagation, introducing the Greisen–Zaptsepin–Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff, and discuss the level of confidence with which each experiment has detected particles beyond the GZK energy limit. In the second part of the review, we discuss the astrophysical environments that are able to accelerate particles up to such high energies, including active galactic nuclei, large scale galactic wind termination shocks, relativistic jets and hot-spots of Fanaroff–Riley radio galaxies, pulsars, magnetars, quasar remnants, starbursts, colliding galaxies, and gamma ray burst fireballs. In the third part of the review we provide a brief summary of scenarios which try to explain the super-GZK events with the help of new physics beyond the standard model. In the last section, we give an overview on neutrino telescopes and existing limits on the energy spectrum and discuss some of the prospects for a new (multi-particle) astronomy. Finally, we outline how extraterrestrial neutrino fluxes can be used to probe new physics beyond the electroweak scale.

Gravitational Radiation from an Accreting Millisecond Pulsar with a Magnetically Confined Mountain

Abstract: The amplitude of the gravitational radiation from an accreting neutron star undergoing polar magnetic burial is calculated. During accretion, the magnetic field of a neutron star is compressed into a narrow belt at the magnetic equator by material spreading equatorward from the polar cap. In turn, the compressed field confines the accreted material in a polar mountain, which is generally misaligned with the rotation axis, producing gravitational waves. The equilibrium hydromagnetic structure of the polar mountain, and its associated mass quadrupole moment, are computed as functions of the accreted mass Ma by solving a Grad-Shafranov boundary value problem. The orientation- and polarization-averaged gravitational wave strain at Earth is found to be hc = 6 × 10-24(Ma/Mc)(1 + Mab2/8Mc)-1(f/0.6 kHz)2(d/1 kpc)-1, where f is the wave frequency, d is the distance to the source, b is the ratio of the hemispheric to polar magnetic flux, and the cutoff mass Mc ~ 10-5 M☉ is a function of the natal magnetic field, temperature, and electrical conductivity of the crust. This value of hc exceeds previous estimates that failed to treat equatorward spreading and flux freezing self-consistently. It is concluded that an accreting millisecond pulsar emits a persistent, sinusoidal gravitational wave signal at levels detectable, in principle, by long-baseline interferometers after phase-coherent integration, provided that the polar mountain is hydromagnetically stable. Magnetic burial also reduces the magnetic dipole moment μ monotonically as μ ∝ (1 + 3Ma/4Mc)-1, implying a novel, observationally testable scaling hc(μ). The implications for the rotational evolution of (accreting) X-ray and (isolated) radio millisecond pulsars are explored.

Spectrum formation in superluminous supernovae (Type I)

Abstract: The near-maximum spectra of most superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) that are not dominated by interaction with a H-rich circum-stellar medium (SLSN-I) are characterized by a blue spectral peak and a series of absorption lines which have been identified as O II. SN 2011kl, associated with the ultra-long gamma-ray burst GRB111209A, also had a blue peak but a featureless optical/ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. Radiation transport methods are used to show that the spectra (not including SN 2007bi, which has a redder spectrum at peak, like ordinary SNe Ic) can be explained by a rather steep density distribution of the ejecta, whose composition appears to be typical of carbon–oxygen cores of massive stars which can have low metal content. If the photospheric velocity is ∼10 000–15 000 km s−1, several lines form in the UV. O II lines, however, arise from very highly excited lower levels, which require significant departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium to be populated. These SLSNe are not thought to be powered primarily by 56Ni decay. An appealing scenario is that they are energized by X-rays from the shock driven by a magnetar wind into the SN ejecta. The apparent lack of evolution of line velocity with time that characterizes SLSNe up to about maximum is another argument in favour of the magnetar scenario. The smooth UV continuum of SN 2011kl requires higher ejecta velocities (∼20 000 km s−1): line blanketing leads to an almost featureless spectrum. Helium is observed in some SLSNe after maximum. The high-ionization near-maximum implies that both He and H may be present but not observed at early times. The spectroscopic classification of SLSNe should probably reflect that of SNe Ib/c. Extensive time coverage is required for an accurate classification.

Repeated injections of energy in the first 600 ms of the giant flare of SGR 1806–20

Abstract: The massive flare of 27 December 2004 from the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20, a possible magnetar, saturated almost all gamma-ray detectors, meaning that the profile of the pulse was poorly characterized. An accurate profile is essential to determine physically what was happening at the source. Here we report the unsaturated gamma-ray profile for the first 600 ms of the flare, with a time resolution of 5.48 ms. The peak of the profile (of the order of 10(7) photons cm(-2) s(-1)) was reached approximately 50 ms after the onset of the flare, and was then followed by a gradual decrease with superposed oscillatory modulations possibly representing repeated energy injections with approximately 60-ms intervals. The implied total energy is comparable to the stored magnetic energy in a magnetar (approximately 10(47) erg) based on the dipole magnetic field intensity (approximately 10(15) G), suggesting either that the energy release mechanism was extremely efficient or that the interior magnetic field is much stronger than the external dipole field.