A freely precessing magnetar following an X-ray outburst
A freely precessing magnetar following an X-ray outburst
Magnetars—highly magnetized neutron stars—are thought to be the most likely progenitors for fast radio bursts (FRBs). Freely precessing magnetars are further invoked to explain the repeating FRBs. We report here on new high-cadence radio observations of the magnetar XTE J1810–197 recorded shortly after an X-ray outburst. We interpret the polarization variations of the magnetar radio emission as evidence for the magnetar undergoing free precession following the outburst while its magnetosphere slowly untwists. The observations of precession being damped on a timescale of months argue against the scenario of freely precessing magnetars as the origin of repeating FRBs. Using free-precession models based on relaxing ellipticity with a decay of the wobble angle, we find the magnetar ellipticity to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions from nuclear physics. Our precise measurement of the magnetar’s geometry can also further help in refining the modelling of X-ray light curves and constrain the star’s compactness.
617-627
Desvignes, Gregory
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Weltevrede, Patrick
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Gao, Yong
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Jones, David Ian
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Kramer, Michael
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Caleb, Manisha
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Karuppusamy, Ramesh
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Levin, Lina
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Liu, Kuo
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Lyne, Andrew
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Shao, Lijing
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Stappers, Ben
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Pétri, Jérôme
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8 April 2024
Desvignes, Gregory
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Weltevrede, Patrick
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Gao, Yong
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Jones, David Ian
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Kramer, Michael
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Caleb, Manisha
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Karuppusamy, Ramesh
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Levin, Lina
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Liu, Kuo
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Lyne, Andrew
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Shao, Lijing
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Stappers, Ben
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Pétri, Jérôme
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Desvignes, Gregory, Weltevrede, Patrick, Gao, Yong, Jones, David Ian, Kramer, Michael, Caleb, Manisha, Karuppusamy, Ramesh, Levin, Lina, Liu, Kuo, Lyne, Andrew, Shao, Lijing, Stappers, Ben and Pétri, Jérôme
(2024)
A freely precessing magnetar following an X-ray outburst.
Nature Astronomy, 8 (5), .
(doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02226-7).
Abstract
Magnetars—highly magnetized neutron stars—are thought to be the most likely progenitors for fast radio bursts (FRBs). Freely precessing magnetars are further invoked to explain the repeating FRBs. We report here on new high-cadence radio observations of the magnetar XTE J1810–197 recorded shortly after an X-ray outburst. We interpret the polarization variations of the magnetar radio emission as evidence for the magnetar undergoing free precession following the outburst while its magnetosphere slowly untwists. The observations of precession being damped on a timescale of months argue against the scenario of freely precessing magnetars as the origin of repeating FRBs. Using free-precession models based on relaxing ellipticity with a decay of the wobble angle, we find the magnetar ellipticity to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions from nuclear physics. Our precise measurement of the magnetar’s geometry can also further help in refining the modelling of X-ray light curves and constrain the star’s compactness.
Text
s41550-024-02226-7
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Accepted/In Press date: 15 February 2024
Published date: 8 April 2024
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 493744
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/493744
ISSN: 2397-3366
PURE UUID: a88f857f-8c95-4d8f-ae7a-c83434502733
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Date deposited: 11 Sep 2024 17:26
Last modified: 12 Sep 2024 01:36
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Contributors
Author:
Gregory Desvignes
Author:
Patrick Weltevrede
Author:
Yong Gao
Author:
Michael Kramer
Author:
Manisha Caleb
Author:
Ramesh Karuppusamy
Author:
Lina Levin
Author:
Kuo Liu
Author:
Andrew Lyne
Author:
Lijing Shao
Author:
Ben Stappers
Author:
Jérôme Pétri
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