Speaker
Maria Grazia Bernardini
(INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera)
Description
Newly-born millisecond magnetars are competing with black holes as source of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) power. In ten years of activity, Swift has provided compelling but indirect evidences supporting the magnetar central engine for both long and short GRBs, that is currently the best way to interpret several correlations observed between prompt and afterglow properties. We review the main observational features that point to the magnetar central engine, and we discuss how the combined information provided by both the electromagnetic and gravitational signal is the most promising way to unveil the nature of the GRB central engine, which is one of the major breakthrough achievable in the next future.
Primary author
Maria Grazia Bernardini
(INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera)
