Multi-instrument X-ray monitoring of the January 2009 outburst from the recurrent magnetar candidate 1E 1547.0-5408

F. Bernardini, G. L. Israel, L. Stella, R. Turolla, P. Esposito, N. Rea, S. Zane, A. Tiengo, S. Campana, D. Götz, S. Mereghetti, P. Romano

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Context. With two consecutive outbursts recorded in four months (October 2008 and January 2009), and a possible third outburst in 2007, 1 1547.0-5408 is one of the most active transient anomalous X-ray pulsars known so far. Aims. Thanks to extensive X-ray observations, obtained both in the quiescent and active states, 1 1547.0-5408 represents a very promising laboratory to gain insight into the outburst properties and magnetar emission mechanisms. Methods. We performed a detailed timing and spectral analysis of four Chandra, three INTEGRAL, and one XMM-Newton observations collected over a two week interval after the outburst onset in January 2009. Several Swift pointings, covering a 1.5 year interval, were also analyzed in order to monitor the decay of the X-ray flux. Results. We compare the characteristics of the two outbursts, as well as those of the active and quiescent states. We also discuss the long-term X-ray flux history of 1 1547.0-5408 since its first detection in 1980, and show that the source displays three flux levels: low, intermediate and high.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Article numberA19
    JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics
    Volume529
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • X-rays: stars
    • pulsars: individual: 1E 1547.0-5408
    • stars: magnetars
    • stars: magnetic field

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • Space and Planetary Science

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