The Diversity of Transients from Magnetar Birth

TL;DR

This paper explores how magnetars with specific magnetic fields and spin periods can produce diverse transients like long GRBs and luminous supernovae, revealing a transition region in their properties that explains multiple observed phenomena.

Contribution

It identifies a parameter space where magnetars can power both long GRBs and super-luminous supernovae, and revises the maximum rotational energy estimates for proto-magnetars.

Findings

A 2 ms magnetar with ~10^4 s spin-down explains GRB 111209 and SN2011kl.

Predicted longer spin-down times lead to longer GRBs and brighter supernovae.

Maximum energy of proto-magnetars can reach 1-2×10^53 erg, accommodating extreme supernovae.

Abstract

Strongly-magnetized, rapidly-rotating neutron stars are contenders for the central engines of both long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) and hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe-I). Models for typical (~minute long) LGRBs invoke magnetars with high dipole magnetic fields (Bd > 1e15 G) and short spin-down times, while models for SLSNe-I invoke neutron stars with weaker fields and longer spin-down times of weeks. Here we identify a transition region in the space of Bd and birth period for which a magnetar can power both a long GRB and a luminous SN. In particular, we show that a 2 ms period magnetar with a spin-down time of ~1e4 s can explain the observations of both the ultra-long GRB 111209 and its associated luminous SN2011kl. For magnetars with longer spin down times, we predict even longer duration (~1e6 s) GRBs and brighter supernovae, a correlation that extends to Swift J2058+05 (commonly interpreted as a tidal disruption event). We further show that previous estimates of the maximum rotational energy of a proto-magnetar were too conservative and energies up to Emax ~1-2e53 erg are possible. The magnetar model can therefore comfortably accommodate the extreme energy requirements recently posed by the most luminous supernova ASASSN-15lh. The high ionization flux from a pulsar wind nebula powering ASASSN-15lh may lead to an "ionization break-out" X-ray burst over the coming months, which would be accompanied by an abrupt change in the optical spectrum. We conclude by briefly contrasting millisecond magnetar and black hole models for SLSNe and ultra-long GRBs.