2006ApJ...653..558O

In a previous paper we presented a new model for soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), based on the onset of color superconductivity in quark stars. In this model, a single burst results from the reorganization of the exterior magnetic field following the formation of vortices that confine the internal magnetic field (the Meissner effect). Here we present full three-dimensional simulations of the evolution of the inclined exterior magnetic field immediately following vortex formation. The simulations capture the violent reconnection events in the entangled surface magnetic field as it evolves into a smooth, more stable configuration that consists of a dipole field aligned with the star's rotation axis. The total magnetic energy dissipated in this process is found to be of the order of 10⁴⁴ ergs, and if it is emitted as synchrotron radiation, it peaks typically at 280 keV. The intensity decays with time in a way characteristic of SGR giant flares with a tail lasting from a few to a few hundred times the rotation period of the star, depending on the initial inclination between the rotation and dipole axes. One of the obvious consequences of our model's final state (aligned rotator) is the suppression of persistent pulsed radio emission in SGRs and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) following their bursting era. We compare our model to observations and highlight our predictions.