Magnetic Field Limit on SGR 1900+14

Abstract

We measured the period and spin-down rate for SGR 1900+14 during the quiescient period two years before the recent interval of renewed burst activity. We have shown that the spin-down age of SGR 1900+14 is consistent with a braking index of ~1 which is appropriate for wind torques and not magnetic dipole radiation. We have shown that a combination of dipole radiation, and wind luminosity, coupled with estimated ages and present spin parameters, imply that the magnetic field for SGR 1900+14 is less than 6 x 10^13 G and that the efficiency for conversion of wind luminosity to x-ray luminosity is <2%.