GECAM Observations of the Galactic Magnetar SGR J1935+2154 during the 2021 and 2022 Burst Active Episodes. I. Burst Catalog

Abstract

Magnetar is a neutron star with an ultrahigh magnetic field ($\sim 10^{14}-10^{15}$ G). The magnetar SGR J1935+2154 is not only one of the most active magnetars detected so far, but also the unique confirmed source of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) is dedicated to monitor gamma-ray transients all over the sky, including magnetar short bursts. Here we report the GECAM observations of the burst activity of SGR J1935+2154 from January 2021 to December 2022, which results in a unique and valuable data set for this important magnetar. With a targeted search of GECAM data, 159 bursts from SGR J1935+2154 are detected by GECAM-B while 97 bursts by GECAM-C, including the X-ray burst associated with a bright radio burst. We find that both the burst duration and the waiting time between two successive bursts follow lognormal distributions. The period of burst activity is $134\pm20$ days, thus the burst activity could be generally divided into four active episodes over these two years. Interestingly, the hardness ratio of X-ray bursts tends to be softer during these two years, especially during the active episode with radio bursts detected.