Nonlinear coupling between magnetar QPOs

Abstract

The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in the tails of magnetar giant $\gamma$-ray flares have long been interpreted as normal oscillation modes of these stars. However, most studies modelling QPOs have neglected some key features in the analyses of the signals, namely that QPOs appear to be detectable only intermittently and exhibit drifts in their frequencies. These are typical characteristics of nonlinear mode coupling, where, at leading order, the modes couple and evolve collectively as triplets. Using a representative triplet of modes, we solve the system's nonlinear equations of motion analytically and argue that the coupling is likely axial-axial-polar in nature, with the observed intermittence and frequency drifts providing a way to infer details of the magnetar's internal magnetic field geometry.