Flares from a candidate Galactic magnetar suggest a missing link to dim isolated neutron stars

[en] Magnetars are young neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields of the order of 10[SUP]14[/SUP]-10[SUP]15[/SUP]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 11days later, after which the source returned to quiescence. Our radio observations confirm a Galactic nature and establish a lower distance limit of ~3.7kpc. 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.

Disciplines :

Space science, astronomy & astrophysics

Author, co-author :

Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IAA-CSIC), PO Box 03004, E-18080 Granada, Spain

de Ugarte Postigo, A.; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IAA-CSIC), PO Box 03004, E-18080 Granada, Spain

Gorosabel, J.; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IAA-CSIC), PO Box 03004, E-18080 Granada, Spain

Jelínek, M.; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IAA-CSIC), PO Box 03004, E-18080 Granada, Spain

Fatkhullin, T. A.; Special Astrophysical Observatory of Russian Academy of Science (SAO-RAS), Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachai-Cherkessia, 369167 Russia

Sokolov, V. V.; Special Astrophysical Observatory of Russian Academy of Science (SAO-RAS), Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachai-Cherkessia, 369167 Russia

Ferrero, P.; Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg, Germany

Kann, D. A.; Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg, Germany

Klose, S.; Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg, Germany

Sluse, Dominique ; Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL > LASTRO

More authors (32 more)

Language :

English

Title :

Flares from a candidate Galactic magnetar suggest a missing link to dim isolated neutron stars

Publication date :

01 September 2008

Journal title :

Nature

ISSN :

0028-0836

eISSN :

1476-4687

Publisher :

Nature Publishing Group, London, United Kingdom

Volume :

455

Pages :

506-509

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://esoads.eso.org/abs/2008Natur.455..506C

Available on ORBi :

since 30 December 2014

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