Magnetars as persistent hard X-ray sources: INTEGRAL discovery of a hard tail in SGR 1900+14

2006/02/16 by D. Götz, D. Gotz, S. Mereghetti +2 · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Flux (metallurgy) #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Magnetar #Materials science #Neutron star #Nuclear physics #Optics #Photon #Physics #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Satellite #Spectral index #Spectral line #X-ray #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20064870

5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to A&A Letters

arxiv created 2006/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2006/03/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Using 2.5 Ms of data obtained by the INTEGRAL satellite in 2003-2004, we discovered persistent hard X-ray emission from the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1900+14. Its 20-100 keV spectrum is well described by a steep power law with photon index and flux erg cm-2 s-1. Contrary to SGR 1806–20, the only other soft gamma-ray repeater for which persistent emission above 20 keV was reported, SGR 1900+14 has been detected in the hard X-ray range while it was in a quiescent state (the last bursts from this source were observed in 2002). By comparing the broad band spectra (1-100 keV) of all the magnetars detected by INTEGRAL (the two SGRs and three anomalous X-ray pulsars) we find evidence for a different spectral behaviour of these two classes of sources.

Citations

• A hard X-ray survey of the Galactic-Center region with the IBIS telescope of the INTEGRAL observatory: A catalog of sources
• A giant γ-ray flare from the magnetar SGR 1806–20
• The INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ISDC)
• An Extended Burst Tail from SGR 1900+14 with a Thermal X‐Ray Spectrum

Cited by

• Magnetars: Properties, Origin and Evolution
• X-ray spectra from magnetar candidates – I. Monte Carlo simulations in the non-relativistic regime
• Electrodynamics of Magnetars. III. Pair Creation Processes in an Ultrastrong Magnetic Field and Particle Heating in a Dynamic Magnetosphere
• Unifying the observational diversity of isolated neutron stars via magneto-thermal evolution models
• Magnetars: A Short Review and Some Sparse Considerations
• Hard X-Ray/Soft Gamma-Ray Experiments and Missions: Overview and Prospects
• The rotation-powered nature of some soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars