Related papers: Magnetars: fact or fiction?
In the last years, optical studies of Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) have expanded from the more classical rotation-powered ones to other categories, like the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and the Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs), which make…
Strong magnetic field of accreting neutron stars ($10^{14}$ G) is hard to probe by X-ray spectroscopy but can be indirectly inferred from spin-up/spin-down measurement in X-ray pulsars. The existing observations of slowly rotating X-ray…
Soft-gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are galactic X-ray stars that emit numerous short-duration (about 0.1 s) bursts of hard X-rays during sporadic active periods. They are thought to be magnetars: strongly magnetized neutron stars with…
In this paper we address the question of why the observed periods of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) are clustered in the range 2-12 s. We explore a possibility to answer this question assuming that…
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…
The similarity of rotation periods from three interesting classes of neutron stars, the anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), the soft gamma ray repeaters (SGRs) and the dim isolated thermal neutron stars (DTNs) suggests a common mechanism with…
Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are slowly rotating neutron stars with very bright and highly variable X-ray emission that are believed to be powered by ultra-strong magnetic fields of >1e14 G, according to the 'magnetar' model. The radio…
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…
SGR 0418+5729 is a "Rosetta Stone" for deciphering the energy source of Soft Gamma Ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs). We show a model based on canonical physics and astrophysics for SGRs and AXPs powered by massive…
Magnetars are young and highly magnetized neutron stars which display a wide array of X-ray activity including short bursts, large outbursts, giant flares and quasi-periodic oscillations, often coupled with interesting timing behavior…
Magnetars are neutron stars in which a strong magnetic field is the main energy source. About two dozens of magnetars, plus several candidates, are currently known in our Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. They appear as highly variable…
Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters are slowly rotating, young, and isolated neutron stars exhibiting sporadic outbursts and high X-ray quiescent luminosities. They are believed to be powered by ultrastrong magnetic fields,…
It is proposed that the `bare' strange matter stars might not be bare, and radio pulsars might be in fact `bare' strange stars. As strange matter stars being intensely magnetized rotate, the induced unipolar electric fields would be large…
It is shown that there are neither necessary nor sufficient properties to provide unambiguous evidence for including any object in the AXP/SGR class.
The anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) represent a growing class of neutron stars discovered at X-ray energies. While the nature of their multi-wavelength emission mechanism is still under debate, evidence has been recently accumulating in…
Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft-Gamma Repeaters groups are magnetar candidates featuring low characteristic ages ($\tau = {P\over{2 {\dot P}}}$). At least some of them they should still be associated with the remnants of the explosive…
SGRs/AXPs are assumed to be a class of neutron stars (NS) powered by magnetic energy and not by rotation, as normal radio pulsars. However, the recent discovery of radio-pulsed emission in four of this class of sources, where the spin-down…
We discuss a model wherein soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), and radio quiet isolated neutron stars (RQINSs) are all compact objects exhibiting superconductivity, namely color-flavor locked quark stars. In…
Magnetars, neutron stars with ultra strong magnetic fields ($B\sim 10^{14} - 10^{15}$G), manifest their exotic nature in the form of soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars. This study estimates the birthrate of magnetars to be…
We show that the period clustering of anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), their X-ray luminosities, ages and statistics can be explained with fallback disks with large initial specific angular momentum. The…