Harmonic brightness oscillations point to magnetar giant flares in rare short gamma-ray bursts
Abstract
Kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) have been observed in a few rare gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), but their physical origin remains uncertain. We reanalyze the two short GRBs with reported kilohertz QPOs, GRB 910711 and GRB 200415A, and find evidence for possible harmonic-like organization around a characteristic frequency scale near 360 hertz. The similar harmonic-like pattern in GRB 910711 and in the confirmed magnetar giant flare (MGF) event GRB 200415A, including features extending above 4 kilohertz, points to timing phenomenology on frequency scales relevant to magnetar oscillation modes. The temporal and spectral similarities between the two events and the difficulty of explaining these features in merger-driven scenarios favor an MGF-like interpretation of GRB 910711. This timing phenomenology may therefore provide an additional observational handle, complementary to spectral, temporal, and localization information, for distinguishing rare MGF-like transients from merger-driven GRBs.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{chen2026harmonic,
title = {{Harmonic brightness oscillations point to magnetar giant flares in rare short gamma-ray bursts}},
author = {Run-Chao Chen and Ore Gottlieb and Bin-Bin Zhang and Yuri Levin and Dong Lai and Jun Yang and Yi-Han Iris Yin and Suo-Ning Wang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.39130},
eprint = {2610.39130},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.39130},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Harmonic brightness oscillations point to magnetar giant flares in rare short gamma-ray bursts
AU - Run-Chao Chen
AU - Ore Gottlieb
AU - Bin-Bin Zhang
AU - Yuri Levin
AU - Dong Lai
AU - Jun Yang
AU - Yi-Han Iris Yin
AU - Suo-Ning Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.39130
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.39130
AB - Kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) have been observed in a few rare gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), but their physical origin remains uncertain. We reanalyze the two short GRBs with reported kilohertz QPOs, GRB 910711 and GRB 200415A, and find evidence for possible harmonic-like organization around a characteristic frequency scale near 360 hertz. The similar harmonic-like pattern in GRB 910711 and in the confirmed magnetar giant flare (MGF) event GRB 200415A, including features extending above 4 kilohertz, points to timing phenomenology on frequency scales relevant to magnetar oscillation modes. The temporal and spectral similarities between the two events and the difficulty of explaining these features in merger-driven scenarios favor an MGF-like interpretation of GRB 910711. This timing phenomenology may therefore provide an additional observational handle, complementary to spectral, temporal, and localization information, for distinguishing rare MGF-like transients from merger-driven GRBs.
ER -