An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20

B. M. Gaensler; C. Kouveliotou; J. D. Gelfand; G. B. Taylor; D. Eichler; R. A.M.J. Wijers; J. Granot; E. Ramirez-Ruiz; Y. E. Lyubarsky; R. W. Hunstead; D. Campbell-Wilson; A. J. Van Der Horst; M. A. McLaughlin; R. P. Fender; M. A. Garrett; K. J. Newton-McGee; D. M. Palmer; N. Gehrels; P. M. Woods

doi:10.1038/nature03498

An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20

B. M. Gaensler, C. Kouveliotou, J. D. Gelfand, G. B. Taylor, D. Eichler, R. A.M.J. Wijers, J. Granot, E. Ramirez-Ruiz, Y. E. Lyubarsky, R. W. Hunstead, D. Campbell-Wilson, A. J. Van Der Horst, M. A. McLaughlin, R. P. Fender, M. A. Garrett, K. J. Newton-McGee, D. M. Palmer, N. Gehrels, P. M. Woods

Physics

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Abstract

Soft γ-ray repeaters (SGRs) are 'magnetars', a small class of slowly spinning neutron stars with extreme surface magnetic fields, B ≈ 10 ¹⁵ gauss (refs 1-3). On 27 December 2004, a giant flare was detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 (ref. 2), only the third such event recorded. This burst of energy was detected by a variety of instruments and even caused an ionospheric disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere that was recorded around the globe. Here we report the detection of a fading radio afterglow produced by this outburst, with a luminosity 500 times larger than the only other detection of a similar source. From day 6 to day 19 after the flare from SGR 1806-20, a resolved, linearly polarized, radio nebula was seen, expanding at approximately a quarter of the speed of light. To create this nebula, at least 4 × 10 ⁴³ ergs of energy must have been emitted by the giant flare in the form of magnetic fields and relativistic particles.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1104-1106
Number of pages	3
Journal	Nature
Volume	434
Issue number	7037
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03498
State	Published - Apr 28 2005

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Gaensler, B. M., Kouveliotou, C., Gelfand, J. D., Taylor, G. B., Eichler, D., Wijers, R. A. M. J., Granot, J., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Lyubarsky, Y. E., Hunstead, R. W., Campbell-Wilson, D., Van Der Horst, A. J., McLaughlin, M. A., Fender, R. P., Garrett, M. A., Newton-McGee, K. J., Palmer, D. M., Gehrels, N., & Woods, P. M. (2005). An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20. Nature, 434(7037), 1104-1106. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03498

Gaensler, BM, Kouveliotou, C, Gelfand, JD, Taylor, GB, Eichler, D, Wijers, RAMJ, Granot, J, Ramirez-Ruiz, E, Lyubarsky, YE, Hunstead, RW, Campbell-Wilson, D, Van Der Horst, AJ, McLaughlin, MA, Fender, RP, Garrett, MA, Newton-McGee, KJ, Palmer, DM, Gehrels, N & Woods, PM 2005, 'An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20', Nature, vol. 434, no. 7037, pp. 1104-1106. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03498

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title = "An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20",

abstract = "Soft γ-ray repeaters (SGRs) are 'magnetars', a small class of slowly spinning neutron stars with extreme surface magnetic fields, B ≈ 10 15 gauss (refs 1-3). On 27 December 2004, a giant flare was detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 (ref. 2), only the third such event recorded. This burst of energy was detected by a variety of instruments and even caused an ionospheric disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere that was recorded around the globe. Here we report the detection of a fading radio afterglow produced by this outburst, with a luminosity 500 times larger than the only other detection of a similar source. From day 6 to day 19 after the flare from SGR 1806-20, a resolved, linearly polarized, radio nebula was seen, expanding at approximately a quarter of the speed of light. To create this nebula, at least 4 × 10 43 ergs of energy must have been emitted by the giant flare in the form of magnetic fields and relativistic particles.",

author = "Gaensler, {B. M.} and C. Kouveliotou and Gelfand, {J. D.} and Taylor, {G. B.} and D. Eichler and Wijers, {R. A.M.J.} and J. Granot and E. Ramirez-Ruiz and Lyubarsky, {Y. E.} and Hunstead, {R. W.} and D. Campbell-Wilson and {Van Der Horst}, {A. J.} and McLaughlin, {M. A.} and Fender, {R. P.} and Garrett, {M. A.} and Newton-McGee, {K. J.} and Palmer, {D. M.} and N. Gehrels and Woods, {P. M.}",

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AU - Gelfand, J. D.

AU - Taylor, G. B.

AU - Eichler, D.

AU - Wijers, R. A.M.J.

AU - Granot, J.

AU - Ramirez-Ruiz, E.

AU - Lyubarsky, Y. E.

AU - Hunstead, R. W.

AU - Campbell-Wilson, D.

AU - Van Der Horst, A. J.

AU - McLaughlin, M. A.

AU - Fender, R. P.

AU - Garrett, M. A.

AU - Newton-McGee, K. J.

AU - Palmer, D. M.

AU - Gehrels, N.

AU - Woods, P. M.

PY - 2005/4/28

Y1 - 2005/4/28

N2 - Soft γ-ray repeaters (SGRs) are 'magnetars', a small class of slowly spinning neutron stars with extreme surface magnetic fields, B ≈ 10 15 gauss (refs 1-3). On 27 December 2004, a giant flare was detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 (ref. 2), only the third such event recorded. This burst of energy was detected by a variety of instruments and even caused an ionospheric disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere that was recorded around the globe. Here we report the detection of a fading radio afterglow produced by this outburst, with a luminosity 500 times larger than the only other detection of a similar source. From day 6 to day 19 after the flare from SGR 1806-20, a resolved, linearly polarized, radio nebula was seen, expanding at approximately a quarter of the speed of light. To create this nebula, at least 4 × 10 43 ergs of energy must have been emitted by the giant flare in the form of magnetic fields and relativistic particles.

AB - Soft γ-ray repeaters (SGRs) are 'magnetars', a small class of slowly spinning neutron stars with extreme surface magnetic fields, B ≈ 10 15 gauss (refs 1-3). On 27 December 2004, a giant flare was detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 (ref. 2), only the third such event recorded. This burst of energy was detected by a variety of instruments and even caused an ionospheric disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere that was recorded around the globe. Here we report the detection of a fading radio afterglow produced by this outburst, with a luminosity 500 times larger than the only other detection of a similar source. From day 6 to day 19 after the flare from SGR 1806-20, a resolved, linearly polarized, radio nebula was seen, expanding at approximately a quarter of the speed of light. To create this nebula, at least 4 × 10 43 ergs of energy must have been emitted by the giant flare in the form of magnetic fields and relativistic particles.

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An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20

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