Magnetars
Abstract
Magnetars are the most magnetic objects in the Universe, serving as unique laboratories to test physics under extreme magnetic conditions that cannot be replicated on Earth. They were discovered in the late 1970s through their powerful X-ray flares, and were subsequently identified as neutron stars characterized by steady and transient emission across the radio, infrared, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands. In this chapter, we summarize the current state of our experimental and theoretical knowledge on magnetars, as well as briefly discussing their relationship with supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, fast radio bursts, and the transient multi-band sky at large.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2503.04442,
title = {Magnetars},
author = {Nanda Rea and Davide De Grandis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.04442},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
16 pages, 8 figures. This is a pre-print of a chapter for the Encyclopedia of Astrophysics (edited by I. Mandel, section editor J. Andrews) to be published by Elsevier as a Reference Module