爱因斯坦探针在2025年7月4日观测到的事件EP250704a中发现了短伽马射线暴后长达近10分钟的软X射线活动1。这一阶段此前被传统伽马射线望远镜所错过，为研究中子星合并提供了全新的观测视角。
初始伽马射线闪光持续不到半秒，但随后出现的软X射线辐射因能谱过软而无法被Swift卫星等传统伽马射线仪器检测1。北京师范大学博士生李安首次发现了这一异常信号1。国际多波段观测随后确认该事件与紧密天体合并相关，排除了伴随超新星的可能1。
南京大学张彬彬教授指出，"之前的任务只记录短伽马射线闪光，错过了爱因斯坦探针揭示的延长活动"1。分析表明这种延长的X射线辐射由合并后产生的磁星驱动1。香港大学殷伊晗认为磁星是解释延长X射线辐射的合理解释1。这一发现为研究中子星合并的电磁对应体和引力波信号提供了新的数据支持。相关成果已发表于《科学通报》2026年第71卷第18期1。
The Einstein Probe space observatory has detected an unexpected phase of activity following a neutron star collision, opening new insights into the electromagnetic signatures of such catastrophic cosmic events. During the event designated EP250704a/GRB 250704B, which occurred on July 4, 2025, the instrument captured soft X-ray emissions lasting nearly 10 minutes after an initial gamma-ray burst that persisted for less than half a second.1 This extended radiation phase had previously gone undetected by conventional gamma-ray observatories because the X-ray spectrum was too soft for traditional instruments, including NASA's Swift satellite, to register.1
The discovery emerged from an anomalous signal first identified by Li An, a doctoral student at Beijing Normal University.1 International multi-wavelength observations subsequently confirmed the event's association with a compact object merger while ruling out an accompanying supernova.1 Researchers theorize that a magnetar—a neutron star with an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field—generated by the merger itself powered the prolonged X-ray radiation.1 According to Zhang Binbin, a professor at Nanjing University, previous missions documented only the short gamma-ray flash and missed the extended activity now revealed by the Einstein Probe.1 The findings provide a new electromagnetic counterpart for studying neutron star mergers and their associated gravitational wave signals.1 The research was published in Science Bulletin, Volume 71, Issue 18, in 2026.1
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