GRB 200415A: A Short Gamma-Ray Burst from a Magnetar Giant Flare?

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 899; no. 2; pp. 106 - 116
• Main Authors: Yang, Jun, Chand, Vikas, Zhang, Bin-Bin, Yang, Yu-Han, Zou, Jin-Hang, Yang, Yi-Si, Zhao, Xiao-Hong, Shao, Lang, Xiong, Shao-Lin, Luo, Qi, Li, Xiao-Bo, Xiao, Shuo, Li, Cheng-Kui, Liu, Cong-Zhan, Joshi, Jagdish C., Sharma, Vidushi, Chakraborty, Manoneeta, Li, Ye, Zhang, Bing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 01-08-2020; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Flares; Galaxies; Gamma ray bursts; Gamma rays; Gamma-ray transient sources; Magnetars; Repeaters; Soft gamma-ray repeaters
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aba745

The giant flares of soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) have long been proposed to contribute to at least a subsample of the observed short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this paper, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the high-energy data of the recent bright short GRB 200415A, which was located close to the Sculptor galaxy. Our results suggest that a magnetar giant flare provides the most natural explanation for most observational properties of GRB 200415A, including its location, temporal and spectral features, energy, statistical correlations, and high-energy emissions. On the other hand, the compact star merger GRB model is found to have difficulty reproducing such an event in a nearby distance. Future detections and follow-up observations of similar events are essential to firmly establish the connection between SGR giant flares and a subsample of nearby short GRBs.