Related papers: Magnetars in the afterglow era
We present our findings on magnetar spectral line analysis in the context of upcoming high resolution, high effective area, high throughput X-ray telescopes for two cases: persistent magnetar emission and magnetar bursts. For magnetars in…
The central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains an open and forefront topic in the era of multimessenger astrophysics. The X-ray plateaus appear in some GRB afterglows, which are widely considered to originate from the spindown of…
Sudden relaxation of the magnetic field in the core of a magnetar produces mechanical energy primarily in the form of shear waves which propagate to the surface and enter the magnetosphere as relativistic Alfv\'en waves. Due to a strong…
The afterglow emission has become the main stream of Gamma-Ray burst research since its discovery three years ago. With the distance-scale enigma solved, the study of the late-time GRB emission is now the most promising approach to disclose…
Magnetars, a population of isolated neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields of $\sim 10^{14}-10^{15}$ G, have been increasingly accepted to explain a variety of astrophysical transients. A nascent millisecond-period magnetar can…
The origin of the strong magnetic fields measured in magnetars is one of the main uncertainties in the neutron star field. On the other hand, the recent discovery of a large number of such strongly magnetized neutron stars, is calling for…
The X-ray afterglows of GRBs 060413, 060522, 060607A and 080330 are characterized by plateaus that are followed by very sharp drops. An X-ray plateau is interpretable within the framework of the external forward shock model but the sharp…
A non-negligible fraction of binary neutron star mergers are expected to form long-lived neutron star remnants, dramatically altering the multi-messenger signatures of a merger. Here, we extend existing models for magnetar-driven kilonovae…
Binary neutron star mergers and collapsing massive stars can both create millisecond magnetars. Such magnetars are candidate engines to power gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The non-thermal light curve of the resulting transients can exhibit…
The recent reports of temporal and spectral peculiarities in the early stages of some afterglows suggest that we may be wrong in postulating a central engine which becomes dormant after the burst itself. A continually decreasing postburst…
Recent analytical and numerical work argue that successful relativistic Fermi acceleration requires a weak magnetization of the unshocked plasma, all the more so at high Lorentz factors. The present paper tests this conclusion by computing…
The persistent thermal luminosity of magnetars and their outbursts suggest the existence of some internal heat sources located in their outer crust. The compression of matter accompanying the decay of the magnetic field may trigger…
Magnetar outbursts are among the most noteworthy manifestations of magnetism in neutron stars. They are episodes in which the X-ray luminosity of a strongly magnetised neutron star swiftly rises by several orders of magnitude to then decay…
The emission of intense radio pulses by flaring magnetars is investigated. Small-scale current gradients can be imprinted into a strongly magnetized outflow by the same processes that source fireball radiation in the closed magnetosphere.…
High magnetic fields are a distinguishing feature of neutron stars and the existence of sources (the soft gamma repeaters and the anomalous X-ray pulsars) hosting an ultra-magnetized neutron star (or magnetar) has been recognized in the…
A relativistic degenerate neutron gas in equilibrium with a background of electrons and protons in a magnetic field exerts its pressure anisotropically, having a smaller value perpendicular than along the magnetic field. For critical fields…
Magnetars are the most magnetic objects in the Universe, serving as unique laboratories to test physics under extreme magnetic conditions that cannot be replicated on Earth. They were discovered in the late 1970s through their powerful…
Extended emission gamma-ray bursts are a subset of the `short' class of burst which exhibit an early time rebrightening of gamma emission in their light curves. This extended emission arises just after the initial emission spike, and can…
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) may be powered by the rotational energy of a millisecond magnetar. I argue that the GRB-driving magnetars lie at the high end of the distribution of magnetic field strengths of magnetars. The field of…
Magnetars are slowly-rotating neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields ($10^{13-15}$ G), episodically emitting $\sim100$ ms long X-ray bursts with energies of $\sim10^{40-41}$ erg. Rarely, they produce extremely bright, energetic…