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Assuming that the shallow-decaying phase in the early X-ray lightcurves of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is attributed to the dipole radiations (DRs) of a newborn magnetar, we present a comparative analysis for the magnetars born in death of massive stars and merger of compact binaries with long and short GRB (lGRB and sGRB) data observed with the {\em Swift} mission. We show that the typical braking index ($n$) of the magnetars is $\sim 3$ in the sGRB sample, and it is $\sim 4$ for the magnetars in the lGRB sample. Selecting a sub-sample of the magnetars whose spin-down is dominated by DRs ($n\lesssim 3$) and adopting a universal radiation efficiency of $0.3$, we find that the typical magnetic field strength ($B_p$) is $10^{16}$ G {\em vs.} $10^{15}$ G and the typical initial period ($P_0$) is $\sim 20$ ms {\em vs.} $2$ ms for the magnetars in the sGRBs {\em vs.} lGRBs. They follow the same relation between $P_0$ and the isotropic GRB energy as $ P_0\propto E_{\rm jet}^{-0.4}$. We also extend our comparison analysis to superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and stable pulsars. Our results show that a magnetar born in merger of compact stars tends to have a stronger $B_p$ and a longer $P_0$ by about one order of magnitude than that born in collapse of massive stars. Its spin-down is dominated by the magnetic DRs as old pulsars, being due to its strong magnetic field strength, whereas the early spin-down of magnetars born in massive star collapse is governed by both the DRs and gravitational wave (GW) emission. A magnetar with a faster rotation speed should power a more energetic jet, being independent of its formation approach., 10 pages, 2 tables, 7 figures. Published in MNRAS

The X-ray flares have usually been ascribed to long-lasting activities of the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), e.g., fallback accretion. The GRB X-ray plateaus, however, favor a millisecond magnetar central engine. The fallback accretion can be significantly suppressed due to the propeller effect of a magnetar. Therefore, if the propeller regime cannot resist the mass flow onto the surface of the magnetar efficiently, the X-ray flares raise upon the magnetar plateau would be hinted. In this work, such peculiar cases are connected to the accretion process of a magnetar, and an implication for magnetar-disc structure is given. We investigate the repeating accretion process with multi-flare GRB 050730, and give a discussion for the accreting induced variation of the magnetic field in GRB 111209A. Two or more flares exhibit in the GRB 050730, GRB 060607A, and GRB 140304A; by adopting magnetar mass $M=1.4~ M_\odot$ and radius $R=12~\rm km$, the average mass flow rates of the corresponding surrounding disk are $3.53\times 10^{-4}~M_\odot~\rm s^{-1}$, $4.23\times 10^{-4}~M_\odot~\rm s^{-1}$, and $4.33\times 10^{-4}~M_\odot~\rm s^{-1}$, and the corresponding average sizes of the magnetosphere are $5.01~\rm \times10^{6} cm$, $6.45~\rm \times10^{6} cm$, and $1.09~\rm \times10^{7} cm$, respectively. A statistic analysis that contains 8 GRBs within 12 flares shows that the total mass loading in single flare is $\sim 2\times 10^{-5}~M_{\odot}$. In the lost mass of a disk, there are about 0.1% used to feed a collimated jet., 15 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, to be published in RAA

The physical composition of the ejecta of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains an open question. The radiation mechanism of the prompt gamma rays is also in debate. This problem can be solved for the bursts hosting distinct thermal radiation. However, the events with dominant thermal spectral components are still rare. In this work, we focus on GRB 220426A, a recent event detected by Fermi-GBM. The time-resolved and time-integrated data analyses yield very hard low-energy spectral indices and rather soft high-energy spectral indices. This means that the spectra of GRB 220426A are narrowly distributed. And the Bayesian inference results are in favor of the multicolor blackbody (mBB) model. The physical properties of the relativistic outflow are calculated. Assuming a redshift $z= 1.4$, the bulk Lorentz factors $\Gamma$ of the shells are found to be between $274_{-18}^{+24}$ and $827_{-71}^{+100}$, and the corresponding photosphere radii $R_{\rm ph}$ are in the range of $1.83_{-0.50}^{+0.52} \times 10^{11}$ and $2.97_{-0.15}^{+0.14} \times 10^{12}$ cm. Similar to GRB 090902B, the time-resolved properties of GRB 220426A satisfy the observed $\Gamma-L$ and $E_p-L$ correlations, where $L$ is the luminosity of the prompt emission and $E_{p}$ is the spectral peak energy., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables; Accepted for publication in ApJ

The unusual multiwavelength lightcurves of GRB 101225A are revisited by assuming that it is from an off-axis GRB powered by a newborn magnetar. We show that its optical afterglow lightcurve is fitted with the forward shock model by parameterizing its jet structure as a Gaussian function with a half opening angle of the jet core as $1.67^{\rm o}$. The derived initial Lorentz factor ($\Gamma_0$) is 120, and the viewing angle to the jet axis is $\theta_v=3.7^{\rm o}$. Tentative QPO signatures of $P=488$ seconds and $P=250\sim 300$ seconds are found with a confidence level of 90\% by analysing its X-ray flares observed in the time interval of $[4900,\ 7500]$ seconds. Its global gamma-ray/X-ray lightcurve and the QPO signatures are represented with the magnetar dipole radiation (DR) model by considering the magnetar precession motion, assuming that the magnetar spindown is dominated by the GW emission. The bulk Lorentz factor of the DR ejecta is limited to 8, being much lower than $\Gamma_0$. Comparing GRB 101225A with the extremely off-axis GRB 170817A, we suspect that the nature of the two-component jet in GRB 170817A is a combination of a co-axial GRB jet and a DR ejecta. GRB 101225A would be among the brightest ones of the CDF-S XT2 like X-ray transient population driven by newborn magnetars. Discussion on detectability of its gravitational wave emission is also presented., Comment: 8 pages,4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJL on 10/12/2021

The unusual multiwavelength lightcurves of GRB 101225A are revisited by assuming that it is from an off-axis GRB powered by a newborn magnetar. We show that its optical afterglow lightcurve is fitted with the forward shock model by parameterizing its jet structure as a Gaussian function with a half opening angle of the jet core as $1.67^{\rm o}$. The derived initial Lorentz factor ($\Gamma_0$) is 120, and the viewing angle to the jet axis is $\theta_v=3.7^{\rm o}$. Tentative QPO signatures of $P=488$ seconds and $P=250\sim 300$ seconds are found with a confidence level of 90\% by analysing its X-ray flares observed in the time interval of $[4900,\ 7500]$ seconds. Its global gamma-ray/X-ray lightcurve and the QPO signatures are represented with the magnetar dipole radiation (DR) model by considering the magnetar precession motion, assuming that the magnetar spindown is dominated by the GW emission. The bulk Lorentz factor of the DR ejecta is limited to 8, being much lower than $\Gamma_0$. Comparing GRB 101225A with the extremely off-axis GRB 170817A, we suspect that the nature of the two-component jet in GRB 170817A is a combination of a co-axial GRB jet and a DR ejecta. GRB 101225A would be among the brightest ones of the CDF-S XT2 like X-ray transient population driven by newborn magnetars. Discussion on detectability of its gravitational wave emission is also presented.

Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 150910A was detected by {\it Swift}/BAT, and then rapidly observed by {\it Swift}/XRT, {\it Swift}/UVOT, and ground-based telescopes. We report Lick Observatory spectroscopic and photometric observations of GRB~150910A, and we investigate the physical origins of both the optical and X-ray afterglows, incorporating data obtained with BAT and XRT. The light curves show that the jet emission episode lasts $\sim 360$~s with a sharp pulse from BAT to XRT (Episode I). In Episode II, the optical emission has a smooth onset bump followed by a normal decay ($\alpha_{\rm R,2} \approx -1.36$), as predicted in the standard external shock model, while the X-ray emission exhibits a plateau ($\alpha_{\rm X,1} \approx -0.36$) followed by a steep decay ($\alpha_{\rm X,2} \approx -2.12$). The light curves show obvious chromatic behavior with an excess in the X-ray flux. Our results suggest that GRB 150910A is an unusual GRB driven by a newly-born magnetar with its extremely energetic magnetic dipole (MD) wind in Episode II, which overwhelmingly dominates the observed early X-ray plateau. The radiative efficiency of the jet prompt emission is $\eta_{\gamma} \approx 11\%$. The MD wind emission was detected in both the BAT and XRT bands, making it the brightest among the current sample of MD winds seen by XRT. We infer the initial spin period ($P_0$) and the surface polar cap magnetic field strength ($B_p$) of the magnetar as $1.02 \times 10^{15}~{\rm G} \leq B_{p} \leq 1.80 \times 10^{15}~{\rm G}$ and 1~ms $\leq P_{0}v\leq 1.77$~ms, and the radiative efficiency of the wind is $\eta_w \geq 32\%$., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 26 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables