Rotational phase dependence of magnetar bursts

TL;DR

This study models how geometric and relativistic factors influence the detectability of rotational phase dependence in magnetar bursts, suggesting current observations may be insufficient to confirm or exclude such dependence.

Contribution

The paper introduces a theoretical model analyzing the conditions under which rotational phase dependence in magnetar bursts can be detected, considering geometry and relativistic effects.

Findings

Detectability of phase dependence is highly sensitive to system geometry and observer perspective.

Short bursts can exhibit strong phase-dependent variability in observed properties.

Current burst samples may be too small to conclusively determine phase dependence.

Abstract

The trigger for the short bursts observed in $\gamma$-rays from many magnetar sources remains unknown. One particular open question in this context is the localization of burst emission to a singular active region or a larger area across the neutron star. While several observational studies have attempted to investigate this question by looking at the phase dependence of burst properties, results have been mixed. At the same time, it is not obvious a priori that bursts from a localized active region would actually give rise to a detectable phase-dependence, taking into account issues such as geometry, relativistic effects, and intrinsic burst properties such brightness and duration. In this paper, we build a simple theoretical model to investigate the circumstances under which the latter effects could affect detectability of a dependence of burst emission on rotational phase. We find that even for strongly phase-dependent emission, inferred burst properties may not show a rotational phase dependence depending on the geometry of the system and the observer. Furthermore, the observed properties of bursts with durations short as 10-20% of the spin period can vary strongly depending on the rotational phase at which the burst was emitted. We also show that detectability of a rotational phase dependence depends strongly on the minimum number of bursts observed, and find that existing burst samples may simply be too small to rule out a phase dependence.