Post-outburst X-ray flux and timing evolution of Swift J1822.3-1606

Abstract

Swift J1822.3-1606 was discovered on 2011 July 14 by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope following the detection of several bursts. The source was found to have a period of 8.4377 s and was identified as a magnetar. Here we present a phase-connected timing analysis and the evolution of the flux and spectral properties using Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, Swift, and Chandra observations. We measure a spin frequency of 0.1185154343(8) s-1 and a frequency derivative of -4.3 ± 0.3 × 10-15 at MJD 55761.0, in a timing analysis that includes significant non-zero second and third frequency derivatives that we attribute to timing noise. This corresponds to an estimated spin-down inferred dipole magnetic field of B 5 × 1013 G, consistent with previous estimates though still possibly affected by unmodeled noise. We find that the post-outburst 1-10 keV flux evolution can be characterized by a double-exponential decay with decay timescales of 15.5 ± 0.5 and 177 ± 14 days. We also fit the light curve with a crustal cooling model, which suggests that the cooling results from heat injection into the outer crust. We find that the hardness-flux correlation observed in magnetar outbursts also characterizes the outburst of Swift J1822.3-1606. We compare the properties of Swift J1822.3-1606 with those of other magnetars and their outbursts. © 2012. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..