Related papers: Recent results on magnetars
Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the present universe and the combination of extreme magnetic field, gravity and density makes them unique laboratories to probe current physical theories (from quantum electrodynamics to general…
High magnetic fields are a distinguishing feature of neutron stars and the existence of sources (the soft gamma repeaters and the anomalous X-ray pulsars) hosting an ultra-magnetized neutron star (or magnetar) has been recognized in the…
Currently, two competing models are invoked in order to explain the observable properties of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs). One model assumes that AXP emission is powered by a strongly magnetized neutron star - i.e., a magnetar. Other…
Recent observations with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) of two anomalous X-ray pulsars provided evidence that X-ray emission from magnetar sources is strongly polarized. Here we report on the joint IXPE and XMM-Newton…
We report the discovery of a new soft gamma repeater (SGR), SGR 1627-41, and present BATSE observations of the burst emission and BeppoSAX NFI observations of the probable persistent X-ray counterpart to this SGR. All but one burst spectrum…
Soft gamma repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars are believed to be magnetars, i.e. neutron stars powered by extreme magnetic fields, B~10^(14)-10^(15) Gauss. The recent discovery of a soft gamma repeater with low magnetic field (<…
We present a model for the anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) in which the emission is powered by accretion from a fossil disk, established from matter falling back onto the neutron star following its birth. The time-dependent accretion drives…
PSRs J1847-0130 and J1718-37184 have inferred surface dipole magnetic fields greater than those of any other known pulsars and well above the ``quantum critical field'' above which some models predict radio emission should not occur.These…
Magnetars comprise two classes of rotating neutron stars (Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars), whose X-ray emission is powered by an ultrastrong magnetic field, B ~ 10^15 G. Occasionally SGRs enter into active episodes…
In the last few years it has been recognized that two apparently distinct classes of peculiar high-energy sources are actually related and can be explained as young neutron stars with magnetic fields as high as 10e14 - 10e15 Gauss. One of…
The ''Anomalous X-ray Pulsars'' (AXPs) are a small group of X-ray pulsars characterized by periods in the 5-10 s range and by the absence of massive companion stars. There are now 7 possible members of this class of objects. We review…
Four Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) have now been identified with certainty, and a fifth has possibly been detected. I will review their X-ray and gamma-ray properties in both outburst and quiescence. The magnetar model accounts fairly well…
The Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) 1E 1547.0-5408 reactivated in 2009 January with the emission of dozens of short bursts. Follow-up observations with Swift/XRT and XMM-Newton showed the presence of multiple expanding rings around the…
Assuming that AXPs and SGRs accrete matter from a fallback disk, we attempt to explain both the soft and the hard X-ray emission as the result of the accretion process. We also attempt to explain their radio emission or the lack of it. We…
The two anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) with well-sampled timing histories, 1E 1048.1-5937 and 1E 2259+586, are known to spin down irregularly, with `bumps' superimposed on an overall linear trend. Here we show that if AXPs are non-accreting…
X-ray pulsars (XRPs) are accreting strongly magnetised neutron stars (NSs) in binary systems with, as a rule, massive optical companions. Very reach phenomenology and high observed flux put them into the focus of observational and…
Most models of anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) account for the observed X-ray spectra and pulsations by means of radiation processes that occur on the surfaces of neutron stars. For any such model, general relativistic deflection of light…
Magnetars (SGRs and AXPs) are one of the most evolutionary paths of a neutron star. These objects have an ultra-strong magnetic field $B \sim 10^{15}$ G at their surface and show persistent X-ray pulsations and transient bursts. Till date…
We show that the X-ray outburst light curves of four transient anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), namely XTE J1810-197, SGR 0501+4516, SGR 1627-41 and CXOU J164710.2-455216, can be produced by the fallback…
SGR 0418+5729 is a transient Soft Gamma-ray Repeater which underwent a major outburst in June 2009, during which the emission of short bursts was observed. Its properties appeared quite typical of other sources of the same class until…