Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Identification Of A Local Sample Of Gamma-Ray Bursts Consistent With A Magnetar Giant Flare Origin, E. Burns, D. Svinkin, K Hurley, Z. Wadiasingh, M. Negro, G. Younes, R. Hamburg, A. Ridnaia, D. Cook, S. B. Cenko, R. Aloisi, G. Ashton, M. Baring, M. S. Briggs, N. Christensen, D. Frederiks, A. Goldstein, C. M. Hui, D. L. Kaplan, M. M. Kasliwal, D. Kocevski, O. J. Roberts, V. Savchenko, A. Tohuvavohu, P. Veres, C. A. Wilson-Hodge

Faculty Publications

Cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known to arise from distinct progenitor channels: short GRBs mostly from neutron star mergers and long GRBs from a rare type of core-collapse supernova (CCSN) called collapsars. Highly magnetized neutron stars called magnetars also generate energetic, short-duration gamma-ray transients called magnetar giant flares (MGFs). Three have been observed from the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies, and they have long been suspected to constitute a third class of extragalactic GRBs. We report the unambiguous identification of a distinct population of four local (<5 Mpc) short GRBs, adding GRB 070222 to previously discussed events. While identified solely based on alignment with nearby star-forming galaxies, their rise time and isotropic energy release are independently inconsistent with the larger short GRB population at >99.9% confidence. These properties, the host galaxies, and nondetection in gravitational waves …