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The infrared counterpart and proper motion of magnetar SGR 0501+451

Details: Published on 15 April 2025

Vol. 696
7. Stellar structure and evolution

The infrared counterpart and proper motion of magnetar SGR 0501+4516

by A. A. Chrimes, A. J. Levan, J. D. Lyman, A. Borghese, V. S. Dhillon, P. Esposito, M. Fraser, A. S. Fruchter, D. Gotz, R. A. Hounsell, G. L. Israel, C. Kouveliotou, S. Mereghetti, R. P. Mignani, R. Perna, N. Rea, I. Skillen, D. Steeghs, N. R. Tanvir, K. Wiersema, N. J. Wright, S. Zane 2025, A&A, 696, A127

Magnetars are highly magnetic neutron stars (with magnetic fields stronger than ~10^14 G). They are discovered thanks to their bursting activity and outbursts. SGR 0501+4516 was discovered by Swift in 2008 as a new source in the hard X-ray sky. At variance with most magnetars, a near-infrared counterpart was detected.

Thanks to Hubble Space Telescope observations across 10 years, SGR 0501+4516 was observed to move in the sky with a low transverse velocity (~50 km s-1). This makes it one of the slowest magnetars, and it contradicts some claims about a connection between a strong magnetic field and a high velocity. In addition, the low velocity rules out a possible association with a nearby supernova remnant from which the neutron star might have originated. This indicates that magnetars might originate from different paths than normal supernovae.