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- Title
Flares from a candidate Galactic magnetar suggest a missing link to dim isolated neutron stars.
- Authors
Castro-Tirado, A. J.; de Ugarte Postigo, A.; Gorosabel, J.; Jelínek, M.; Fatkhullin, T. A.; Sokolov, V. V.; Ferrero, P.; Kann, D. A.; Klose, S.; Sluse, D.; Bremer, M.; Winters, J. M.; Nuernberger, D.; Pérez-Ramírez, D.; Guerrero, M. A.; French, J.; Melady, G.; Hanlon, L.; McBreen, B.; Leventis, K.
- Abstract
Magnetars are young neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields of the order of 1014–1015 G. They are detected in our Galaxy either as soft γ-ray repeaters or anomalous X-ray pulsars. Soft γ-ray repeaters are a rare type of γ-ray transient sources that are occasionally detected as bursters in the high-energy sky. No optical counterpart to the γ-ray flares or the quiescent source has yet been identified. Here we report multi-wavelength observations of a puzzling source, SWIFT J195509+261406. We detected more than 40 flaring episodes in the optical band over a time span of three days, and a faint infrared flare 11 days later, after which the source returned to quiescence. Our radio observations confirm a Galactic nature and establish a lower distance limit of ∼3.7 kpc. We suggest that SWIFT J195509+261406 could be an isolated magnetar whose bursting activity has been detected at optical wavelengths, and for which the long-term X-ray emission is short-lived. In this case, a new manifestation of magnetar activity has been recorded and we can consider SWIFT J195509+261406 to be a link between the ‘persistent’ soft γ-ray repeaters/anomalous X-ray pulsars and dim isolated neutron stars.
- Subjects
NEUTRON stars; COSMIC magnetic fields; MILKY Way; PULSARS; WAVELENGTHS; ASTRONOMICAL observations
- Publication
Nature, 2008, Vol 455, Issue 7212, p506
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/nature07328