Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2011-09-26
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
7 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters
Scientific paper
On 2011 July 14, a new magnetar candidate, Swift J1822.3-1606, was identified via a rate trigger on the Swift/Burst Alert Telescope. Here we present an initial analysis of the X-ray properties of the source, using data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, Swift, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, spanning 2011 July 16--September 22. We measure a precise spin period of P=8.43771963(5) s and a spin-down rate of 2.97(28)E-13, at MJD 55761.0, corresponding to an inferred surface dipole magnetic field strength of B=5.1E13 G, the second lowest thus far measured for a magnetar, though similar to 1E~2259+586 as well as to several high-magnetic field radio pulsars. We show that the pulsed X-ray flux decay in the 2--10 keV band is best fit by an exponential with a time constant of 16.4+/-0.3 days. After increasing from ~35% during the first week after the onset of the outburst, the pulsed fraction in the 2--10 keV band remained constant at ~45. We argue that these properties confirm this source to be a new member of the class of objects known as magnetars.
Gavriil Fotis P.
Kaspi Victoria M.
Livingstone Margaret A.
Ng Cheuk-Yiu
Scholz Paul
No associations
LandOfFree
The Spin-down of Swift J1822.3-1606: A New Galactic Magnetar does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Spin-down of Swift J1822.3-1606: A New Galactic Magnetar, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Spin-down of Swift J1822.3-1606: A New Galactic Magnetar will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-61560