Burst tails from SGR J1550-5418 observed with the Rossi x-ray timing explorer

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/807/1/42

We present the results of our extensive search using the Bayesian block method for long tails following short bursts from a magnetar, SGR J1550-5418, over all RXTE observations of the source. We identified four bursts with extended tails, most of which occurred during its 2009 burst active episode. The durations of tails range between similar to 13 s and over 3 ks, which are much longer than the typical duration of bursts. We performed detailed spectral and temporal analyses of the burst tails. We find that the spectra of three tails show a thermal nature with a trend of cooling throughout the tail. We compare the results of our investigations with the properties of four other extended tails detected from SGR 1900+14 and SGR 1806-20. and suggest a scenario for the origin of the tail in the framework of the magnetar model.