# Where is SGR1806-20?

## 1 Introduction

The four known soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) are neutron stars in or near radio or optical supernova remnants. SGR1806-20 was discovered in 1986 (Laros et al. 1986) and underwent a period of intense activity in 1987 (Laros et al. 1987, Kouveliotou et al. 1987) which led to its localization to an $``$ 400 arcmin<sup>2</sup> error ellipse (Atteia et al. 1987). Based on this position, Kulkarni & Frail (1993) suggested that the SGR was associated with the Galactic radio supernova remnant (SNR) G10.0-0.3. This was confirmed when the ASCA spacecraft observed and imaged the source in outburst, leading to a $``$ 1’ radius error circle (Murakami et al. 1994). ROSAT observations of the quiescent X-ray source associated with SGR1806-20 confirmed the ASCA data (Cooke 1993; Cooke et al. 1993). It is believed that the SGRs are ’magnetars’, i.e. single neutron stars in which the magnetic field energy dominates all other sources of energy, including rotation (Duncan & Thompson 1992). In the case of SGR1806-20, evidence for this model comes from observations of the period and period derivative of the quiescent soft X-ray emission (Kouveliotou et al. 1998).

Studies of the radio nebula show evidence for changes in its morphology on $``$ year timescales, and suggest that the neutron star may be located at the non-thermal core of the radio emission (Frail et al. 1997). The position of the core also coincides with that of an unusual star, identified as a luminous blue variable (LBV) by van Kerkwijk et al. (1995). This appears to be the only case so far of an SGR with an optical stellar counterpart, and the connection between this object and the SGR has been unclear up to now.

SGR1806-20 has remained active over the past several years, and many bursts have been detected by the Interplanetary Network (IPN), consisting primarily in this case of BATSE, Ulysses , and KONUS-WIND. However, only eight events have been intense enough to trigger both Ulysses and a near-Earth spacecraft, resulting in high time resolution data (the other bursts were recorded with lower time resolution by one or more instruments). It is these triggered events which lead to the most precise determination of the source position by triangulation.

## 2 Observations

Details of the eight triggered bursts are given in Table 1. In each case, triangulation using Ulysses and either BATSE or KONUS results in a single annulus of width $``$23 - 28” which defines the possible arrival direction for the burst. Two such annuli define an error box, if the angular separation between their centers is sufficient to prevent the annuli from intersecting at grazing incidence. Over the $``$2 yr period analyzed here, the Ulysses -Earth vector moved sufficiently to define a non-degenerate error box. With three or more annuli, the problem of defining the source location becomes overdetermined, and we can use a statistical method to derive the most probable source location. This consists of defining a chisquare which is a function of an assumed source position in right ascension and declination, and of the parameters describing the eight annuli. Let $`\alpha ,\delta `$ be the right ascension and declination of the assumed source position, and let $`\alpha _i,\delta _i,\theta _i`$ be the right ascension, declination, and radius of the ith annulus. Then the angular distance d<sub>i</sub> between the two is given by

$$d_i=\theta _i\mathrm{cos}^1(\mathrm{sin}(\delta )\mathrm{sin}(\delta _i)+\mathrm{cos}(\delta )\mathrm{cos}(\delta _i)\mathrm{cos}(\alpha \alpha _i))$$
(1)   
. If the 1 $`\sigma `$ uncertainty in the annulus width is $`\sigma _i`$, then

$$\chi ^2=\underset{i}{}\frac{d_i^2}{\sigma _i^2}.$$
(2)   
The assumed source position is varied to obtain a minimum chisquare; 1, 2, and 3 $`\sigma `$ equivalent confidence contours in $`\alpha `$ and $`\delta `$ are found by increasing $`\chi _{min}^2`$ by 2.3, 6.2, and 11.8.

We have tested this method on six IPN annuli for SGR1900+14 (Table 2), whose precise (sub-arcsecond) location is known from VLA observations of a particle outburst (Frail, Kulkarni, and Bloom 1999) following the giant flare of 1998 August 27 (Hurley et al. 1999a). The result is shown in figure 1. The 3$`\sigma `$ error ellipse has an area of $``$600 arcsec<sup>2</sup>, and the best fitting position for the SGR, at $`\alpha (2000)=19^\mathrm{h}07^\mathrm{m}14.3^\mathrm{s},\delta (2000)=9^\mathrm{o}19\mathrm{}19\mathrm{}`$, has a $`\chi ^2`$ of 1.05 for 4 degrees of freedom (six annuli, minus the two fitting parameters $`\alpha ,\delta `$). It lies $`0.6\mathrm{}`$ from the VLA position.

The results of applying the method to SGR1806-20 are shown in figure 2. The best fit position is at $`\alpha (2000)=18^\mathrm{h}08^\mathrm{m}39.4^\mathrm{s},\delta (2000)=20^\mathrm{o}24\mathrm{}38.6\mathrm{}`$, with a $`\chi ^2`$ of 3.35 for 6 degrees of freedom (8 annuli minus two fitting parameters). It lies $``$15 ″from the center of the non-thermal core, and well outside it. The 3$`\sigma `$ error ellipse has an area of $``$ 230 arcsec<sup>2</sup>, making it the smallest burst error box determined to date (the 324 arcsec<sup>2</sup> error box of the 1979 March 5 burst was, until now, “the most precisely determined gamma-ray source error box in existence” - Cline et al. 1982). The position of the non-thermal core has a total $`\chi ^2`$ of 101.

## 3 Accuracy of the Method

Since each individual annulus gives, in effect, an underdetermined source position, it is possible in principle that unknown systematic errors might affect the location accuracy. For example, timing errors of 96 to 206 ms in the Ulysses data could shift the positions of the annuli by different amounts and make them all consistent with that of the non-thermal core. Apart from the unlikely combination of errors which this would require (i.e., each annulus would have to be subject to a different error in such a way as to make the erroneous best fit position have an acceptable $`\chi ^2`$), there are several independent confirmations of the accuracy of the triangulation method. The first is the excellent agreement between the VLA and triangulated positions of SGR1900+14. The second is the agreement between IPN positions and the positions of gamma-ray bursts with optical counterparts (e.g. Hurley et al. 1997). The third and most stringent, however, is the confirmation of the Ulysses spacecraft timing and ephemeris by end-to-end timing tests, in which commands are sent to the GRB experiment at precisely known times, and the times of their execution onboard the spacecraft are recorded and compared with the expected times. Because of command buffering on the spacecraft, there are random delays in the execution of these commands, and the timing is verified to different accuracies during different tests. However, the tests before, during, and after the eight bursts in Table 1 took place on 1996 October 1, 1997 February 19, 1997 August 25, 1998 February 18, 1998 August 21, and 1999 March 7, and indicated that the timing errors at those times could not exceed 19, 21, 39, 29, 112, and 1 ms respectively. For comparison, the 3 $`\sigma `$ uncertainties in these triangulations have been taken to be 125 ms. This includes both the statistical errors, and a conservative estimate of unknown timing and spacecraft ephemeris errors. The low $`\chi ^2`$ values for the two SGR positions are probably due in part to this estimate. Thus the most likely explanation of our results is indeed that SGR1806-20 is not in the non-thermal core of G10.0-0.3, as has been assumed up to now. In this respect, SGR1806-20 resembles SGR1627-41, which also displays a significant displacement from the core of its radio SNR (Hurley et al. 1999b).

## 4 Discussion

The association of van Kerkwijk et al.’s (1995) possible LBV with the SNR is compelling; they estimate that there are only several hundred stars this luminous in the galaxy, and this one lies within 1 $`\mathrm{}`$ of the radio peak. Indeed, in assuming a distance to the object of 6 kpc, they may have underestimated the star’s luminosity; a better distance estimate is now 14.5 kpc (Corbel et al. 1997), giving a luminosity of $`6\times 10^6\mathrm{L}_{}`$. The fact that this object has not yet been observed to vary is not an argument against the LBV identification: Humphreys & Davidson (1994) note that LBV’s do not always appear blue or variable. They are simply very luminous, unstable hot supergiants which undergo irregular eruptions. In a giant eruption, they may radiate as much luminous energy as a supernova, and eject a solar mass of material. But this does not explain the SGR bursts, the changing radio morphology, or the displacement between the radio core and the source of the bursts.

We propose that the LBV drives the morphological changes. LBV’s are characterized by sporadic mass loss rates of up to $`10^4\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{y}`$ (Humphreys & Davidson 1994) and more. Moreover, these flows may be bipolar or jetlike, as in the case of $`\eta `$ Car or P Cygni (Meaburn, Lopez & O’Connor 1999). Van Kerkwijk et al’s (1995) measurements of the possible LBV in G10.0-0.3 indicate an outflow velocity of 500 km/s. Coupled with a mass loss rate of $`10^4\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{y}`$, this gives a total wind energy of $`2.5\times 10^{44}\mathrm{erg}/\mathrm{y}`$, or a factor of $``$30 greater than the rate of energy deposition into the radio nebula by the neutron star in the model of Frail et al (1997). Thus the LBV is easily capable of supplying the energy to explain the changing radio morphology. In the case of $`\eta `$ Car, the LBV not only changes the morphology of its radio nebula dramatically, but it also powers the (apparently non-thermal) radio nebula (Duncan et al. 1995; Duncan, White, & Lim 1997).

We believe that the magnetar model is the best current explanation for the bursts. It is possible that the SGR is not associated with the radio nebula, and that we are simply observing a chance alignment of the two. But if the two are indeed associated, the SGR and the LBV may once have formed a binary system, which became unbound following the supernova explosion. In the magnetar model, the neutron star may be born with a kick velocity $`>`$1000 km/s (Duncan & Thomson 1992). If we assume that the distance to SGR1806-20 is 14.5 kpc (Corbel et al. 1997), that its age is 10,000 y, and that the neutron star originated at the position of the LBV/non-thermal core, its approximate transverse velocity is a rather modest 100 km/s. (This estimate is subject to large uncertainties due to the unknown age of the SNR; also, the actual space velocity could be much larger). This certainly does not strain the magnetar model, but it does raise another interesting question. Why did the SGR progenitor form a neutron star rather than a black hole, given that it must have been very massive to end its life earlier than the LBV? In any case, SGR1806 now appears to be similar to the other SGRs in that there is no associated radio emission at its position, except for the brief radio flare from SGR1900+14 (Frail et al. 1999).

KH is grateful to JPL for Ulysses support under Contract 958056, and to NASA for Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory support under grant NAG 5-3811. We thank the referee, M. van Kerkwijk, for helpful comments, and P. Li for his analysis of the ROSAT data.