Rapid spin changes around a magnetar fast radio burst.

Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely high magnetic fields (≳1014 gauss) that exhibit various X-ray phenomena such as sporadic subsecond bursts, long-term persistent flux enhancements and variable rotation-period derivative1,2. In 2020, a fast radio burst (FRB), akin to cosmological millisecond-duration radio bursts, was detected from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 (refs. 3-5), confirming the long-suspected association between some FRBs and magnetars. However, the mechanism for FRB generation in magnetars remains unclear. Here we report the X-ray observation of two glitches in SGR 1935+2154 within a time interval of approximately nine hours, bracketing an FRB that occurred on 14 October 20226,7. Each glitch involved a significant increase in the magnetar's spin frequency, being among the largest abrupt changes in neutron-star rotation8-10 observed so far. Between the glitches, the magnetar exhibited a rapid spin-down phase, accompanied by an increase and subsequent decline in its persistent X-ray emission and burst rate. We postulate that a strong, ephemeral, magnetospheric wind11 provides the torque that rapidly slows the star's rotation. The trigger for the first glitch couples the star's crust to its magnetosphere, enhances the various X-ray signals and spawns the wind that alters magnetospheric conditions that might produce the FRB.

X-ray polarization evidence for a 200-year-old flare of Sgr A.

The centre of the Milky Way Galaxy hosts a black hole with a solar mass of about 4 million (Sagittarius A* (Sgr A)) that is very quiescent at present with a luminosity many orders of magnitude below those of active galactic nuclei1. Reflection of X-rays from Sgr A* by dense gas in the Galactic Centre region offers a means to study its past flaring activity on timescales of hundreds and thousands of years2. The shape of the X-ray continuum and the strong fluorescent iron line observed from giant molecular clouds in the vicinity of Sgr A* are consistent with the reflection scenario3-5. If this interpretation is correct, the reflected continuum emission should be polarized6. Here we report observations of polarized X-ray emission in the direction of the molecular clouds in the Galactic Centre using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. We measure a polarization degree of 31% ± 11%, and a polarization angle of -48° ± 11°. The polarization angle is consistent with Sgr A* being the primary source of the emission, and the polarization degree implies that some 200 years ago, the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A* was briefly comparable to that of a Seyfert galaxy.

Catalog of 525 sprites observed over Japan from September 2016 to March 2021.

We present a catalog of 525 sprites detected over the Sea of Japan and a northeast part of the Pacific Ocean from Sagamihara between September 2016 and March 2021. We analyze the morphology of 525, estimate the location of 441, and calculate the accurate top height of 15 sprites. More than half of our samples occurred in winter, while only 11% were in summer. In terms of morphology, 52% to 60% column type sprites took place in spring, autumn, and winter, while only 15.5% in summer. Therefore, summer thunderstorms are more likely to produce sprites with complex structures like carrots. Furthermore, sprites in summer are almost all located on the main island of Japan, and their spatial distributions are significantly different from the other seasons. Finally, from the perspective of the time distribution, the number of sprites is the largest at 1:00 JST. In addition, the morphology of sprites tends to be simple (e.g., a column type) at midnight JST.

Vela pulsar wind nebula X-rays are polarized to near the synchrotron limit.

Pulsar wind nebulae are formed when outflows of relativistic electrons and positrons hit the surrounding supernova remnant or interstellar medium at a shock front. The Vela pulsar wind nebula is powered by a young pulsar (B0833-45, aged 11,000 years)1 and located inside an extended structure called Vela X, which is itself inside the supernova remnant2. Previous X-ray observations revealed two prominent arcs that are bisected by a jet and counter jet3,4. Radio maps have shown high linear polarization of 60% in the outer regions of the nebula5. Here we report an X-ray observation of the inner part of the nebula, where polarization can exceed 60% at the leading edge-approaching the theoretical limit of what can be produced by synchrotron emission. We infer that, in contrast with the case of the supernova remnant, the electrons in the pulsar wind nebula are accelerated with little or no turbulence in a highly uniform magnetic field.

Polarized x-rays from a magnetar.

Magnetars are neutron stars with ultrastrong magnetic fields, which can be observed in x-rays. Polarization measurements could provide information on their magnetic fields and surface properties. We observed polarized x-rays from the magnetar 4U 0142+61 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer and found a linear polarization degree of 13.5 ± 0.8% averaged over the 2- to 8-kilo-electron volt band. The polarization changes with energy: The degree is 15.0 ± 1.0% at 2 to 4 kilo-electron volts, drops below the instrumental sensitivity ~4 to 5 kilo-electron volts, and rises to 35.2 ± 7.1% at 5.5 to 8 kilo-electron volts. The polarization angle also changes by 90° at ~4 to 5 kilo-electron volts. These results are consistent with a model in which thermal radiation from the magnetar surface is reprocessed by scattering off charged particles in the magnetosphere.

Enhanced x-ray emission coinciding with giant radio pulses from the Crab Pulsar.

Giant radio pulses (GRPs) are sporadic bursts emitted by some pulsars that last a few microseconds and are hundreds to thousands of times brighter than regular pulses from these sources. The only GRP-associated emission outside of radio wavelengths is from the Crab Pulsar, where optical emission is enhanced by a few percentage points during GRPs. We observed the Crab Pulsar simultaneously at x-ray and radio wavelengths, finding enhancement of the x-ray emission by 3.8 ± 0.7% (a 5.4σ detection) coinciding with GRPs. This implies that the total emitted energy from GRPs is tens to hundreds of times higher than previously known. We discuss the implications for the pulsar emission mechanism and extragalactic fast radio bursts.

Return of the Big Glitcher: NICER timing and glitches of PSR J0537-6910.

PSR J0537-6910, also known as the Big Glitcher, is the most prolific glitching pulsar known, and its spin-induced pulsations are only detectable in X-ray. We present results from analysis of 2.7 years of NICER timing observations, from 2017 August to 2020 April. We obtain a rotation phase-connected timing model for the entire timespan, which overlaps with the third observing run of LIGO/Virgo, thus enabling the most sensitive gravitational wave searches of this potentially strong gravitational wave-emitting pulsar. We find that the short-term braking index between glitches decreases towards a value of 7 or lower at longer times since the preceding glitch. By combining NICER and RXTE data, we measure a long-term braking index n = -1.25 ± 0.01. Our analysis reveals 8 new glitches, the first detected since 2011, near the end of RXTE, with a total NICER and RXTE glitch activity of 8.88 × 10-7 yr-1. The new glitches follow the seemingly unique time-to-next-glitch-glitch-size correlation established previously using RXTE data, with a slope of 5 d µHz-1. For one glitch around which NICER observes two days on either side, we search for but do not see clear evidence of spectral nor pulse profile changes that may be associated with the glitch.

Observational diversity of magnetized neutron stars.

Young and rotation-powered neutron stars (NSs) are commonly observed as rapidly-spinning pulsars. They dissipate their rotational energy by emitting pulsar wind with electromagnetic radiation and spin down at a steady rate, according to the simple steadily-rotating magnetic dipole model. In reality, however, multiwavelength observations of radiation from the NS surface and magnetosphere have revealed that the evolution and properties of NSs are highly diverse, often dubbed as 'NS zoo'. In particular, many of young and highly magnetized NSs show a high degree of activities, such as sporadic electromagnetic outbursts and irregular changes in pulse arrival times. Importantly, their magnetic field, which are the strongest in the universe, makes them ideal laboratories for fundamental physics. A class of highly-magnetized isolated NSs is empirically divided into several subclasses. In a broad classification, they are, in the order of the magnetic field strength (B) from the highest, 'magnetars' (historically recognized as soft gamma-ray repeaters and/or anomalous x-ray pulsars), 'high-B pulsars', and (nearby) x-ray isolated NSs. This article presents an introductory review for non-astrophysicists about the observational properties of highly-magnetized NSs, and their implications. The observed dynamic nature of NSs must be interpreted in conjunction with transient magnetic activities triggered during magnetic-energy dissipation process. In particular, we focus on how the five fundamental quantities of NSs, i.e. mass, radius, spin period, surface temperature, and magnetic fields, as observed with modern instruments, change with evolution of, and vary depending on the class of, the NSs. They are the foundation for a future unified theory of NSs.

Hitomi X-ray studies of Giant Radio Pulses from the Crab pulsar.

To search for giant X-ray pulses correlated with the giant radio pulses (GRPs) from the Crab pulsar, we performed a simultaneous observation of the Crab pulsar with the X-ray satellite Hitomi in the 2 - 300 keV band and the Kashima NICT radio observatory in the 1.4 - 1.7 GHz band with a net exposure of about 2 ks on 25 March 2016, just before the loss of the Hitomi mission. The timing performance of the Hitomi instruments was confirmed to meet the timing requirement and about 1,000 and 100 GRPs were simultaneously observed at the main and inter-pulse phases, respectively, and we found no apparent correlation between the giant radio pulses and the X-ray emission in either the main or inter-pulse phases. All variations are within the 2 sigma fluctuations of the X-ray fluxes at the pulse peaks, and the 3 sigma upper limits of variations of main- or inter-pulse GRPs are 22% or 80% of the peak flux in a 0.20 phase width, respectively, in the 2 - 300 keV band. The values become 25% or 110% for main or inter-pulse GRPs, respectively, when the phase width is restricted into the 0.03 phase. Among the upper limits from the Hitomi satellite, those in the 4.5-10 keV and the 70-300 keV are obtained for the first time, and those in other bands are consistent with previous reports. Numerically, the upper limits of main- and inter-pulse GRPs in the 0.20 phase width are about (2.4 and 9.3) ×10-11 erg cm-2, respectively. No significant variability in pulse profiles implies that the GRPs originated from a local place within the magnetosphere and the number of photon-emitting particles temporally increases. However, the results do not statistically rule out variations correlated with the GRPs, because the possible X-ray enhancement may appear due to a > 0.02% brightening of the pulse-peak flux under such conditions.

Photonuclear reactions triggered by lightning discharge.

Lightning and thunderclouds are natural particle accelerators. Avalanches of relativistic runaway electrons, which develop in electric fields within thunderclouds, emit bremsstrahlung γ-rays. These γ-rays have been detected by ground-based observatories, by airborne detectors and as terrestrial γ-ray flashes from space. The energy of the γ-rays is sufficiently high that they can trigger atmospheric photonuclear reactions that produce neutrons and eventually positrons via ß+ decay of the unstable radioactive isotopes, most notably 13N, which is generated via 14N + γ → 13N + n, where γ denotes a photon and n a neutron. However, this reaction has hitherto not been observed conclusively, despite increasing observational evidence of neutrons and positrons that are presumably derived from such reactions. Here we report ground-based observations of neutron and positron signals after lightning. During a thunderstorm on 6 February 2017 in Japan, a γ-ray flash with a duration of less than one millisecond was detected at our monitoring sites 0.5-1.7 kilometres away from the lightning. The subsequent γ-ray afterglow subsided quickly, with an exponential decay constant of 40-60 milliseconds, and was followed by prolonged line emission at about 0.511 megaelectronvolts, which lasted for a minute. The observed decay timescale and spectral cutoff at about 10 megaelectronvolts of the γ-ray afterglow are well explained by de-excitation γ-rays from nuclei excited by neutron capture. The centre energy of the prolonged line emission corresponds to electron-positron annihilation, providing conclusive evidence of positrons being produced after the lightning.

Repetitive patterns in rapid optical variations in the nearby black-hole binary V404 Cygni.

How black holes accrete surrounding matter is a fundamental yet unsolved question in astrophysics. It is generally believed that matter is absorbed into black holes via accretion disks, the state of which depends primarily on the mass-accretion rate. When this rate approaches the critical rate (the Eddington limit), thermal instability is supposed to occur in the inner disk, causing repetitive patterns of large-amplitude X-ray variability (oscillations) on timescales of minutes to hours. In fact, such oscillations have been observed only in sources with a high mass-accretion rate, such as GRS 1915+105 (refs 2, 3). These large-amplitude, relatively slow timescale, phenomena are thought to have physical origins distinct from those of X-ray or optical variations with small amplitudes and fast timescales (less than about 10 seconds) often observed in other black-hole binaries-for example, XTE J1118+480 (ref. 4) and GX 339-4 (ref. 5). Here we report an extensive multi-colour optical photometric data set of V404 Cygni, an X-ray transient source containing a black hole of nine solar masses (and a companion star) at a distance of 2.4 kiloparsecs (ref. 8). Our data show that optical oscillations on timescales of 100 seconds to 2.5 hours can occur at mass-accretion rates more than ten times lower than previously thought. This suggests that the accretion rate is not the critical parameter for inducing inner-disk instabilities. Instead, we propose that a long orbital period is a key condition for these large-amplitude oscillations, because the outer part of the large disk in binaries with long orbital periods will have surface densities too low to maintain sustained mass accretion to the inner part of the disk. The lack of sustained accretion--not the actual rate--would then be the critical factor causing large-amplitude oscillations in long-period systems.