Magnetar Outbursts from Avalanches of Hall Waves and Crustal Failures

TL;DR

This paper models how Hall waves and crustal failures interact in magnetars, suggesting that avalanches triggered by these waves could explain transient magnetar outbursts.

Contribution

It introduces detailed one-dimensional models of magnetar crust dynamics incorporating temperature-sensitive plastic flow and wave-induced avalanches.

Findings

Hall waves accelerate crustal failures

Avalanches of failures can trigger magnetar outbursts

Model links crustal dynamics to observed phenomena

Abstract

We explore the interaction between Hall waves and mechanical failures inside a magnetar crust, using detailed one-dimentional models that consider temperature-sensitive plastic flow, heat transport and cooling by neutrino emission, as well as the coupling of the crustal motion to the magnetosphere. We find that the dynamics is enriched and accelerated by the fast, short-wavelength Hall waves that are emitted by each failure. The waves propagate and cause failures elsewhere, triggering avalanches. We argue that these avalanches are the likely sources of outbursts in transient magnetars.