Statistical Properties of X-Ray Bursts from SGR J1935+2154 Detected by Insight-HXMT

As one class of the most important objects in the universe,magnetars can produce a lot of different frequency bursts including X-ray bursts.In Cai et al.,75 X-ray bursts produced by magnetar SGR J1935+2154 during an active period in 2020 are published,including the duration and net photon counts of each burst,and waiting time based on the trigger time difference.In this paper,we utilize the power-law model,dN(x)/dx∝(x+x_0)~((-α)_x),to fit the cumulative distributions of these parameters.It can be found that all the cumulative distributions can be well fitted,which can be interpreted by a self-organizing criticality theory.Furthermore,we check whether this phenomenon still exists in different energy bands and find that there is no obvious evolution.These findings further confirm that the X-ray bursts from magnetars are likely to be generated by some self-organizing critical process,which can be explained by a possible magnetic reconnection scenario in magnetars.

Gas microchannel plate-pixel detector for X-ray polarimetry

POLAR-2 is a gamma-ray burst(GRB)polarimeter that is designed to study the polarization in GRB radiation emissions,aiming to improve our knowledge of related mechanisms.POLAR-2 is expected to utilize an on-board polarimeter that is sensitive to soft X-rays(2-10 keV),called low-energy polarization detector.We have developed a new soft X-ray polari-zation detector prototype based on gas microchannel plates(GMCPs)and pixel chips(Topmetal).The GMCPs have bulk resistance,which prevents charging-up effects and ensures gain stability during operation.The detector is composed of low outgassing materials and is gas-sealed using a laser welding technique,ensuring long-term stability.A modulation factor of 41.28%±0.64% is obtained for a 4.5 keV polarized X-ray beam.A residual modulation of 1.96%±0.58% at 5.9 keV is observed for the entire sensitive area.

Verification of Short-Term Predictions of Solar Soft X-ray Bursts for the Maximum Phase (2000-2001) of Solar Cycle 23

We present a verification of the short-term predictions of solar X-ray bursts for the maximum phase (2000–2001) of Solar Cycle 23, issued by two prediction centers. The results are that the rate of correct predictions is about equal for RWC-China and WWA; the rate of too high predictions is greater for RWC-China than for WWA, while the rate of too low predictions is smaller for RWC-China than for WWA.

Stellar reaction rate of 55Ni（p,γ）56Cu in Type I X-ray bursts

56Cu is close to the waiting-point nucleus 56Ni and lies on the rapid proton capture（rp） process path in Type I X-ray bursts（XRBs）. In this work, we obtained a revised thermonuclear reaction rate of 55Ni（p,γ）56Cu in the temperature region relevant to XRBs. This rate was recalculated based on the recent experimental level structure in 56Cu, the recently measured proton separation energy of Sp = 579.8（7.1） keV, together with shell-model calculation, and the mirror nuclear structure in 56Co. The associated uncertainties in the rates were estimated by a Monte Carlo method. Our revised rate is significantly different from the recent results, which were partially based on experimental results; in addition, we found that a result in a previous work was incorrect. We recommend our revised rate to be incorporated in the future astrophysical network calculations.

A report on TypeⅡX-ray bursts from SMC X-1

We study RXTE PCA data for the high mass X-ray binary source SMC X-1 between 2003–10 and 2003–12 when the source was in its high states.The source is found to be frequently bursting which can be seen as flares in lightcurves that occur at a rate of one every 800 s, with an average of 4–5 Type Ⅱ X-ray bursts per hour.We note that typically a burst was short, lasting for a few tens of seconds in addition to a few long bursts spanning more than a hundred seconds that were also observed.The flares apparently occupied 2.5% of the total observing time of 225.5 ks.We note a total of 272 flares with mean FWHM of the flare ～21 s.The rms variability and aperiodic variability are independent of flares.As observed, the pulse profiles of the lightcurves do not change their shape, implying that there is no change in the geometry of an accretion disk due to a burst.The hardness ratio and rms variability of lightcurves exhibit no correlation with the flares.The flare fraction shows a positive correlation with the peak-to-peak ratio of the primary and secondary peaks of the pulse profile.The observed hardening or softening of the spectrum cannot be correlated with the flaring rate but may be due to the interstellar absorption of X-rays as evident from the change in hydrogen column density(n_H).It is found that the luminosity of the source increases with the flaring rate.Considering that the viscous timescale is equal to the mean recurrence time of flares, we fixed the viscosity parameter α ～ 0.16.

Polarization Study of Swift J151857.0–572147 with IXPE Observation

We present an analysis of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer observation from a newly discovered transient source:Swift J151857.0-572147.The obtained polarization degree(PD)and angle are 0.3%±0.3% and -24°±26°respectively in 2-8 keV within 68%confidence level errors,and polarization results are below MDP99in all energy bins,with the upper limit on PD of 0.8% in the 2-8 keV energy range.No quasi-periodic oscillations(QPOs)are detected in this observation.The polarization and QPO analyses support the hypothesis that the source was in the high soft state,and the results are consistent with predictions for a thin accretion disk model.

Spin Evolution of the Magnetar SGR J1935+2154

Fast radio bursts(FRBs)are short pulses observed in radio frequencies usually originating from cosmological distances.The discovery of FRB 200428 and its X-ray counterpart from the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154suggests that at least some FRBs can be generated by magnetars.However,the majority of X-ray bursts from magnetars are not associated with radio emission.The fact that only in rare cases can an FRB be generated raises the question regarding the special triggering mechanism of FRBs.Here we report long time spin evolution of SGR J1935+2154 until the end of 2022.According to v and v,the spin evolution of SGR J1935+2154 could be divided into two stages.The first stage evolves relatively steady evolution until 2020 April 27.After the burst activity in2020,the spin of SGR J1935+2154 shows strong variations,especially for v.After the burst activity in 2022October,a new spin-down glitch with△v/v=(-7.2±0.6)×10^(-6)is detected around MJD 59876,which is the second event in SGR J1935+2154.At the end,spin frequency and pulse profile do not show variations around the time of FRB 200428 and radio bursts 221014 and 221021,which supply strong clues to constrain the trigger mechanism of FRBs or radio bursts.

Very Early Optical Afterglows for Geometric Models of X-ray Flashes and X-ray Rich GRBs

If X-ray flashes （XRFs） and X-ray rich Gamma-ray Bursts （XRRGs） have the same origin as the Gamma-ray bursts （GRBs） but are viewed off-center from structured jets, their early afterglows may differ from those of GRBs, and when the ultra-relativistic outflow inter- acts with the surrounding medium, there are two shocks formed, a forward shock （FS）, and a reverse shock （RS）. We calculate numerically the early afterglow powered by uniform jets, Gaussian jets and power-law jets in the forward-reverse shock scenario. A set of differential equations govern the dynamical evolution. The synchrotron self-Compton effect has been taken into account in the calculation. In the uniform jets, the very early afterglows of XRRGs and XRFs are significantly lower than the GRBs and the observed peak times of RS emission are later in the interstellar medium environment. The RS components in XRRGs and XRFs are difficult to detect, but in the stellar wind environment, the reduction of the very early flux and the delay of the RS peak time are not so remarkable. In nonuniform jets （Gaussian and power-law jets）, where there are emission materials on the line of sight, the very early light curve resembles equivalent isotropic ejecta in general although the RS flux decay index shows notable deviations if the RS is relativistic （in stellar wind）.

A Possible 250s X-Ray Quasi-periodicity in the Fast Blue Optical Transient AT2018cow

The fast blue optical transients(FBOTs)are a new population of extragalactic transients of unclear physical origin.A variety of mechanisms has been proposed including failed supernova explosion,shock interaction with a dense medium,young magnetar,accretion onto a compact object and stellar tidal disruption event,but none is conclusive.Here we report the discovery of a possible X-ray quasi-periodicity signal with a period of~250 s(at a significance level of 99.76%)in the brightest FBOT AT2018cow through the analysis of XMM-Newton/PN data.The signal is independently detected at the same frequency in the average power density spectrum from data taken from the Swift telescope,with observations covering from 6 to 37 days after the optical discovery,though the significance level is lower(94.26%).This suggests that the quasi-periodic oscillation(QPO)frequency may be stable over at least 1.1×10^(4)cycles.Assuming the~250 s QPO to be a scaled-down analog of that typically seen in stellar mass black holes,a black hole mass of~103–10^(5)solar masses could be inferred.The overall X-ray luminosity evolution could be modeled with a stellar tidal disruption by a black hole of~10^(4)solar masses,providing a viable mechanism to produce AT2018cow.Our findings suggest that other bright FBOTs may also harbor intermediate-mass black holes.

Progress Report on Insight-HXMT:China's First X-ray Astronomy Satellite

Insight-HXIUT is China's hrst X-ray astronomy satellite.It was launched on 15 June 2017 and is currently in service smoothly.Insight-HXMT has been used to scan the Galactic plane repeatedly,making pointing observations to neutron stars and black holes,and monitor the whole sky continuously in the MeV band.Insight-HXMT is also very flexible in making ToO observations,with the response time from about 3 hours to within a day.So far more than 50 refereed publications have been made with data from its observations;many more publications have used the data or results of Insight-HXMT one way or another.The scientific impacts of Insight-HXMT have been growing rapidly since launch.We expect Insight-HXMT to continue to operate for several more years.

Research on the Magnetic Field of NGC 7793 P13 and Other Confirmed Pulsating Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources

A pulsating ultraluminous X-ray source(PULX)is a new kind of pulsar(PSR)whose characteristics are different from all known neutron stars.The magnetic field of PULX is suspected to be the main reason to support its supper Eddington luminosity of PULX.NGC 7793 P13,which is the second confirmed PULX,can be easily studied due to its nearby position and isolation from other sources in its host galaxy.In this paper,we calculate its magnetic field to be∼1.0×10^(12) G based on the continued observations from 2016 to 2020.The magnetic field evolution of NGC 7793 P13 is analyzed,which shows that the source has spent about 10^(4) yr for the field decaying from the simulated initial strength 4.0×10^(14) G to the present value.In case of an assumed constant accretion and the limitation of the companion mass,it will be a recycled PSR whose magnetic field is ∼10^(9) G and spin period is a few hundred milliseconds.We estimate the field strength of the other confirmed PULXs and find main range is 10^(13)-10^(14) G.Their positions of the magnetic field and spin period are around or below the magnetars.This is because these PULXs are in the binary systems and are with the spin-up rate that are 2-3 orders higher than the normal binary pulsars.We suggest that PULXs are the accreting magnetars whose multi-pole strong magnetic field can support the supper Eddington luminosity.They would be helpful for studying the evolution of the magnetars,the formation of the binary PSRs above the Eddington spin-up line,and the millisecond PSRs with the magnetic field stronger than ∼10^(9) G.

Shallow Decay of X-ray Afterglows in Short GRBs:Energy Injection from a Millisecond Magnetar?

With the successful launch of Swift satellite, more and more data of early X-ray afterglows from short gamma-ray bursts have been collected. Some interesting features such as unusual afterglow light curves and unexpected X-ray flares are revealed. Especially, in some cases, there is a flat segment in the X-ray afterglow light curve. Here we present a simplified model in which we believe that the flattening part is due to energy injection from the central engine. We assume that this energy injection arises from the magnetic dipole radiation of a millisecond pulsar formed after the merger of two neutron stars. We check this model with the short GRB 060313. Our numerical results suggest that energy injection from a millisecond magnetar could make part of the X-ray afterglow light curve flat.

Timescale Analysis of Spectral Lags

A technique for timescale analysis of spectral lags performed directly in the time domain is developed. Simulation studies are made to compare the time domain technique with the Fourier frequency analysis for spectral time lags. The time domain technique is applied to studying rapid variabilities of X-ray binaries and γ-ray bursts. The results indicate that in comparison with the Fourier analysis the timescale analysis technique is more powerful for the study of spectral lags in rapid variabilities on short time scales and short duration flaring phenomena.

X-ray flares of γ-ray bursts: Quakes of solid quark stars?

A star-quake model is proposed to understand X-ray flares of both long and short γ-ray bursts (GRBs) in a solid quark star regime. Two kinds of central engines for GRBs are available if pulsar-like stars are actually (solid) quark stars, i.e., the SNE-type GRBs and the SGR-type GRBs. It is found that a quark star could be solidified about 103 to 106 s later after its birth if the critical temperature of phase transi- tion is a few Metga-electron-volts, and then a new source of free energy (i.e., elastic and gravitational ones, rather than rotational or magnetic energy) could be possible to power GRB X-ray flares.

Comparison between Windowed FFT and Hilbert-Huang Transform for Analyzing Time Series with Poissonian Fluctuations: A Case Study

Hilbert-Huang Transform （HHT） is a novel data analysis technique for nonlinear and non-stationary data. We present a time-frequency analysis of both simulated fight curves and an X-ray burst from the X-ray burster 4U 1702-429 with both the HHT and the Windowed Fast Fourier Transform （WFFT） methods. Our results show that the HHT method has failed in all cases for light curves with Poissonian fluctuations which axe typical for all photon counting instruments used in astronomy, whereas the WFFT method can sensitively detect the periodic signals in the presence of Poissonian fluctuations; the only drawback of the WFFT method is that it cannot detect sharp frequency variations accurately.

Resonance reaction rate of ^21Na（p,γ）^22Mg

By using the new Coulomb screening model and most recent experimental results, this paper calculates the resonance reaction rates of ^21Na（p,γ）^22Mg. The derived result shows that the effect of electron screening on resonant reaction is prominent in astrophysical interesting temperature range. In conjunction with the experimental results, the recommended rates of^21Na（p,γ）^22 Mg would increase at least 10%, which undoubtedly affect the nucleosynthesis of some heavier nuclei in a variety of astrophysical sites.

Tail Emission from a Ring-like Jet: Its Application to Shallow Decays of Early Afterglows and GRB 050709

Similar to the case of pulsars the magnetic axis and the spin axis of gamma-ray burst sources may not lie on the same line. This may cause the formation of a ring-like jet due to collimation of the precessing magnetic axis. We analyze the tail emission from such a jet, and find that it has a shallow decay phase with a temporal index of - 1/2 if the Lorentz factor of the ejecta is not very high, which is consistent with the shallow decay phase of some early X-ray afterglow detected by Swift. The ring-like jet has a tail cusp with sharp rising and very sharp decay. This effect can provide an explanation for the re-brightening and sharp decay of the X-ray afterglow＇of GRB 050709.

Overview to the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) Satellite

As China’s first X-ray astronomical satellite, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), which was dubbed as Insight-HXMT after the launch on June 15, 2017, is a wide-band(1-250 ke V) slat-collimator-based X-ray astronomy satellite with the capability of all-sky monitoring in 0.2-3 Me V. It was designed to perform pointing, scanning and gamma-ray burst(GRB)observations and, based on the Direct Demodulation Method (DDM), the image of the scanned sky region can be reconstructed.Here we give an overview of the mission and its progresses, including payload, core sciences, ground calibration/facility, ground segment, data archive, software, in-orbit performance, calibration, background model, observations and some preliminary results.

Repeating fast radio bursts from collapses of the crust of a strange star

Strange stars(SSs)are compact objects made of deconfined quarks.It is hard to distinguish SSs from neutron stars as a thin crust composed of normal hadronic matter may exist and obscure the whole surface of the SS.Here we suggest that the intriguing repeating fast radio bursts(FRBs)are produced by the intermittent fractional collapses of the crust of an SS induced by refilling of materials accreted from its low-mass companion.The periodic/sporadic/clustered temporal behaviors of FRBs could be well understood in our scenario.Especially,the periodicity is attributed to the modulation of accretion rate through the disk instabilities.To account for a~16-day periodicity of the repeating FRB source of 180916.J0158+65,a Shakura-Sunyaev disk with a viscosity parameter of 0.004 and an accretion rate of 3×10^(16)gs^(-1) is invoked.Our scenario,if favored by future observations,will serve as indirect evidence for the strange quark matter hypothesis.

The plateau of gamma-ray burst:hint for the solidification of quark matter?

The origin of the shallow decay segment in γ-ray bursts' (GRB) early light curves remains a mystery, especially those cases with a long-lived plateau followed by an abrupt falloff. In this paper, we propose to understand the origins of the long-lived plateau by considering the solidification of newborn quark stars with latent heat released as energy injection to the GRB afterglow, and we suggest that an abrupt falloff would naturally appear after the plateau due to the energy injection cutoff. We estimated the total latent heat released during the phase transition of quark stars from liquid to solid states to be on the order of ～ 1051 ergs, which is comparable to the emission energy in the shallow decay segment. We also estimated the time scale of radiating the latent heat through thermal photon emission, and found that the time scale agrees with the observations. Based on our estimation, we analyzed the process of energy injection to GRB afterglow. We will show that the steady latent heat of quark star phase transition will continuously inject into the GRB afterglow in a form similar to that of a Poynting-flux-dominated outflow and naturally produce the shallow decay phase and the abrupt falloff after the plateau. We conclude that the latent heat of quark star phase transition is an important contribution to the shallow decay radiation in some GRB afterglows, and explains the long-lived plateau followed by an abrupt falloff, if pulsar-like stars are really (solid) quark stars.