Magnetar Twists: Fermi/Gamma ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detection of SGR J1550-5418

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of hundreds of gamma-ray bursts from magnetar SGR J1550-5418 during intense activity, revealing unique spectral and timing properties, including the smallest hot spot ever measured on a magnetar.

Contribution

First detailed analysis of Fermi/GBM data capturing burst activity and spectral properties of SGR J1550-5418 during its active episodes.

Findings

Detected ~450 bursts in 24 hours during peak activity

Identified a 150-second enhanced emission with pulsations at the neutron star's spin period

Measured the smallest hot spot size on a magnetar to date

Abstract

SGR J1550-5418 (previously known as AXP 1E 1547.0-5408 or PSR J1550-5418) went into three active bursting episodes in 2008 October and in 2009 January and March, emitting hundreds of typical Soft Gamma Repeater (SGR) bursts in soft gamma-rays. The second episode was especially intense, and our untriggered burst search on Fermi/GBM data (8-1000 keV) revealed ~450 bursts emitted over 24 hours during the peak of this activity. Using the GBM data, we identified a ~150-s-long enhanced persistent emission during 2009 January 22 that exhibited intriguing timing and spectral properties: (i) clear pulsations up to ~110 keV at the spin period of the neutron star (P ~ 2.07 s, the fastest of all magnetars), (ii) an additional (to a power-law) blackbody component required for the enhanced emission spectra with kT ~ 17 keV, (iii) pulsed fraction that is strongly energy dependent and highest in the 50-74 keV energy band. A total isotropic-equivalent energy emitted during this enhanced emission is estimated to be 2.9 x 10^{40} (D/5 kpc)^2 erg. The estimated area of the blackbody emitting region of ~0.046(D/5 kpc)^2 km^2 (roughly a few x 10^{-5} of the neutron star area) is the smallest "hot spot" ever measured for a magnetar and most likely corresponds to the size of magnetically-confined plasma near the neutron star surface.