Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
Do you wish to request the book?
A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
2019
Overview
Mergers of neutron stars are known to be associated with short γ-ray bursts
1
–
4
. If the neutron-star equation of state is sufficiently stiff (that is, the pressure increases sharply as the density increases), at least some such mergers will leave behind a supramassive or even a stable neutron star that spins rapidly with a strong magnetic field
5
–
8
(that is, a magnetar). Such a magnetar signature may have been observed in the form of the X-ray plateau that follows up to half of observed short γ-ray bursts
9
,
10
. However, it has been expected that some X-ray transients powered by binary neutron-star mergers may not be associated with a short γ-ray burst
11
,
12
. A fast X-ray transient (CDF-S XT1) was recently found to be associated with a faint host galaxy, the redshift of which is unknown
13
. Its X-ray and host-galaxy properties allow several possible explanations including a short γ-ray burst seen off-axis, a low-luminosity γ-ray burst at high redshift, or a tidal disruption event involving an intermediate-mass black hole and a white dwarf
13
. Here we report a second X-ray transient, CDF-S XT2, that is associated with a galaxy at redshift
z
= 0.738 (ref.
14
). The measured light curve is fully consistent with the X-ray transient being powered by a millisecond magnetar. More intriguingly, CDF-S XT2 lies in the outskirts of its star-forming host galaxy with a moderate offset from the galaxy centre, as short γ-ray bursts often do
15
,
16
. The estimated event-rate density of similar X-ray transients, when corrected to the local value, is consistent with the event-rate density of binary neutron-star mergers that is robustly inferred from the detection of the gravitational-wave event GW170817.
Observations of an X-ray transient associated with a galaxy at redshift 0.738 suggest that the X-ray transient is powered by a millisecond magnetar and that it is the remnant of a merger between two neutron stars.
