Rights statement: This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in British Journal for the Philosophy of Science following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version A A Chrimes, A J Levan, A S Fruchter, P J Groot, P G Jonker, C Kouveliotou, J D Lyman, E R Stanway, N R Tanvir, K Wiersema, Where are the magnetar binary companions? Candidates from a comparison with binary population synthesis predictions, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 513, Issue 3, July 2022, Pages 3550–3563, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1090 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/513/3/3550/6572374
Accepted author manuscript, 596 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Where are the magnetar binary companions?
T2 - Candidates from a comparison with binary population synthesis predictions
AU - Chrimes, A A
AU - Levan, A J
AU - Fruchter, A S
AU - Groot, P J
AU - Jonker, P G
AU - Kouveliotou, C
AU - Lyman, J D
AU - Stanway, E R
AU - Tanvir, N R
AU - Wiersema, K
N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in British Journal for the Philosophy of Science following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version A A Chrimes, A J Levan, A S Fruchter, P J Groot, P G Jonker, C Kouveliotou, J D Lyman, E R Stanway, N R Tanvir, K Wiersema, Where are the magnetar binary companions? Candidates from a comparison with binary population synthesis predictions, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 513, Issue 3, July 2022, Pages 3550–3563, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1090 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/513/3/3550/6572374
PY - 2022/7/31
Y1 - 2022/7/31
N2 - It is well established that magnetars are neutron stars with extreme magnetic fields and young ages, but the evolutionary pathways to their creation are still uncertain. Since most massive stars are in binaries, if magnetars are a frequent result of core-collapse supernovae, some fraction are expected to have a bound companion at the time of observation. In this paper, we utilize literature constraints, including deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, to search for bound stellar companions to magnetars. The magnitude and colour measurements are interpreted in the context of binary population synthesis predictions. We find two candidates for stellar companions associated with CXOU J171405.7–381031 and SGR 0755–2933, based on their J-H colours and H-band absolute magnitudes. Overall, the proportion of the Galactic magnetar population with a plausibly stellar near-infrared counterpart candidate, based on their magnitudes and colours, is between 5 and 10 per cent. This is consistent with a population synthesis prediction of 5 per cent, for the fraction of core-collapse neutron stars arising from primaries which remain bound to their companion after the supernova. These results are therefore consistent with magnetars being drawn in an unbiased way from the natal core-collapse neutron star population, but some contribution from alternative progenitor channels cannot be ruled out.
AB - It is well established that magnetars are neutron stars with extreme magnetic fields and young ages, but the evolutionary pathways to their creation are still uncertain. Since most massive stars are in binaries, if magnetars are a frequent result of core-collapse supernovae, some fraction are expected to have a bound companion at the time of observation. In this paper, we utilize literature constraints, including deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, to search for bound stellar companions to magnetars. The magnitude and colour measurements are interpreted in the context of binary population synthesis predictions. We find two candidates for stellar companions associated with CXOU J171405.7–381031 and SGR 0755–2933, based on their J-H colours and H-band absolute magnitudes. Overall, the proportion of the Galactic magnetar population with a plausibly stellar near-infrared counterpart candidate, based on their magnitudes and colours, is between 5 and 10 per cent. This is consistent with a population synthesis prediction of 5 per cent, for the fraction of core-collapse neutron stars arising from primaries which remain bound to their companion after the supernova. These results are therefore consistent with magnetars being drawn in an unbiased way from the natal core-collapse neutron star population, but some contribution from alternative progenitor channels cannot be ruled out.
KW - stars:neutron
KW - stars:magnetars
KW - binaries:general
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stac1090
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stac1090
M3 - Journal article
VL - 513
SP - 3550
EP - 3563
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 3
ER -