2005/09/30 by Yi-Zhong Fan, Y. Z. Fan, Bing Zhang +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Flare #Gamma-ray burst #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Jet (fluid) #Nuclear physics #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Solar flare #X-ray #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/499489
published as Astrophys.J.635:L129-L132,2005 · 4 pages (no figure), accepted for publication in ApJL, typos corrected
arxiv created 2005/11/16 · openalex publication_date 2005/12/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Soft X-ray flares were detected following the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 050724. The temporal properties of the flares suggest that they are likely due to the late-time activity of the central engine. We argue that if short GRBs are generated through compact star mergers, as is supported by the recent observations, the jet powering the late X-ray flares must be launched via magnetic processes rather than via neutrino-antineutrino annihilations. As a result, the X-ray flares following short GRBs are expected to be linearly polarized. The argument may also apply to the X-ray flares following long GRBs. Future observations with the upcoming X-ray polarimeters will test this prediction.