The X-ray afterglow flat segment in short GRB 051221A: Energy injection from a millisecond magnetar?

Abstract

The flat segment lasting $\sim 10^4$ seconds in the X-ray afterglow of GRB051221A represents the first clear case of strong energy injection in the external shock of a short GRB afterglow. In this work, we show that a millisecond pulsar with dipole magnetic field $\sim 10^{14}$ Gauss could well account for that energy injection. The good quality X-ray flat segment thus suggests that the central engine of this short burst may be a millisecond magnetar.

arXiv comment4 pages including 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters, minor revision

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