Understanding the Continuum Spectra of Short Soft Gamma Repeater Bursts

The spectra of short soft gamma repeater (SGR) bursts at photon energies above -15 keV are often well described by an optically thin thermal bremsstrahlung model (i.e., F(E) - E^-1 * exp(-E/kT) ) with kT=20-40 keV. However, the spectral shape burst continuum at lower photon energies (down to -2 keV) is not well established. It is important to better understand the SGR burst spectral properties at lower energies since inadequate description of the burst spectral continuum could lead to incorrect conclusions, such as existence of spectral lines. Here, we present detailed spectral investigations (in 2-200 keV) of 163 bursts from SGR 1806-20, all detected with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer during the 2004 active episode that included the giant flare on 27 December 2004. We find that the great majority of burst spectra are well represented by the combination of a blackbody plus a OTTB models.