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A near-infrared survey of the N49 region around the Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater 0526-66

S. Klose·A. A. Henden·U. Geppert·J. Greiner·H. H. Guetter·D. H. Hartmann·C. Kouveliotou·C. B. Luginbuhl·B. Stecklum·F. J. Vrba
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Abstract

We report the results of a deep near-infrared survey with VLT/ISAAC of the environment of the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which contains the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 0526-66. Two of the four confirmed SGRs are potentially associated with compact stellar clusters. We thus searched for a similar association of SGR 0526-66, and imaged a young stellar cluster at a projected distance of ~30 pc from the SGR. This constitutes the third cluster-SGR link, and lends support to scenarios in which SGR progenitors originate in young, dusty clusters. If confirmed, the cluster-SGR association constrains the age and thus the initial mass of SGR progenitors.

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S. Klose, A. A. Henden, U. Geppert, J. Greiner, H. H. Guetter, D. H. Hartmann, C. Kouveliotou, C. B. Luginbuhl, B. Stecklum, F. J. Vrba. 2004-05-15. A near-infrared survey of the N49 region around the Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater 0526-66. https://doi.org/10.1086/422657

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