Nature and nurture: A model for soft gamma-ray repeaters

Abstract

During supernova explosions, strange stars with almost bare quark surfaces may be formed. Under certain conditions, these stars could be rapidly spun down by the torque exerted by the fossil disks formed from the fallback materials. They may also receive large kicks and hence have large proper-motion velocities. When these strange stars pass through the spherical "Oort" comet cloud formed during the presupernova era, they will capture some small-scale comet clouds and collide with some comet-like objects occasionally. These impacts can account for the repeating bursts as observed from the soft gamma repeaters. According to this picture, it is expected that SGR 1900+14 will become active again during 2004-2005.