On 18 June 2002, the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 2259+586 underwent a major X-ray outburst that lasted several hours and consequently linked AXPs to the class of magnetar-candidates known as soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). Three days after the outburst, observations with the Gemini Observatory showed a near-infrared flux enhancement, presumably associated with the X-ray activity. We have since performed a ~1.5 year monitoring program of the Ks band (2.5 mum) photometry, and find that the flux decreased continually, reaching its pre-burst level after about one year. Comparing both the near-IR flux increase and subsequent decay to those of the X-ray afterglow, we find them to be remarkably consistent. This correlated post-burst activity confirms the association between the X-ray outburst and IR enhancement, and implies a physical link between their origins. In the context of the magnetar model, both types of emission appear to be from the neutron star magnetosphere, although the mechanism powering IR radiation is still unclear. We also compare our results to recent optical/IR observations of other AXPs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.82436 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Tam, Cindy R. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Physics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002210708, proquestno: AAIMR12551, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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