Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
The Peculiar Precursor of a Gamma-Ray Burst from a Binary Merger Involving a Magnetar |
| Authors: |
Shuo Xiao, Yan-Qiu Zhang, Zi-Pei Zhu, Shao-Lin Xiong, He Gao, Dong Xu, Shuang-Nan Zhang, Wen-Xi Peng, Xiao-Bo Li, Peng Zhang, Fang-Jun Lu, Lin Lin, Liang-Duan Liu, Zhen Zhang, Ming-Yu Ge, You-Li Tuo, Wang-Chen Xue, Shao-Yu Fu, Xing Liu, Jin-Zhong Liu, An Li, Tian-Cong Wang, Chao Zheng, Yue Wang, Shuai-Qing Jiang, Jin-Da Li, Jia-Cong Liu, Zhou-Jian Cao, Xi-hong Luo, Jiao-jiao Yang, Shu-Xu Yi, Xi-Lu Wang, Ce Cai, Qi-Bin Yi, Yi Zhao, Sheng-Lun Xie, Cheng-Kui Li, Qi Luo, Li-Ming Song, Shu Zhang, Jin-Lu Qu, Cong-Zhan Liu, Xu-Fang Li, Yu-Peng Xu, Ti-Pei Li |
| Source: |
The Astrophysical Journal, Vol 970, Iss 1, p 6 (2024) |
| Publisher Information: |
IOP Publishing, 2024. |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Astrophysics |
| Subject Terms: |
Gamma-ray bursts, Astrophysics, QB460-466 |
| More Details: |
The milestone discovery of GW170817-GRB 170817A-AT 2017gfo has shown that gravitational waves (GWs) could be produced during the merger of a neutron star–neutron star/black hole and that in electromagnetic (EM) waves, a gamma-ray burst (GRB) and a kilonova (KN) are generated in sequence after the merger. Observationally, however, EM properties before the merger phase are still unclear. Here we report a peculiar precursor in a KN-associated long-duration GRB 211211A, providing evidence of the EM before the merger. This precursor lasts ∼0.2 s, and the waiting time between the precursor and the main burst is ∼1 s, comparable to that between GW170817 and GRB 170817A. The spectrum of the precursor could be well fit with a nonthermal cutoff power-law model instead of a blackbody. In particular, a ∼22 Hz quasiperiodic oscillation candidate (∼3 σ ) is detected in the precursor. These temporal and spectral properties indicate that this precursor is probably produced by a catastrophic flare accompanied with magnetoelastic or crustal oscillations of a magnetar in a binary compact merger. The strong magnetic field of the magnetar can also account for the prolonged duration of GRB 211211A. However, it poses a challenge to reconcile the rather short lifetime of a magnetar with the rather long spiraling time of a binary neutron star system only by the GW radiation before the merger. |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
1538-4357 |
| Relation: |
https://doaj.org/toc/1538-4357 |
| DOI: |
10.3847/1538-4357/ad4ee1 |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/dcc9bc6c9fd0408ea6c7cbdebf860c7b |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.9bc6c9fd0408ea6c7cbdebf860c7b |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
