Related papers: On the Cooling Trend of SGR 0526-66
SGR 1627-41 was discovered in 1998 after a single active episode which lasted \~6 weeks. We report here our monitoring results of the decay trend of the persistent X-ray luminosity of the source during the last 5 years. We find an initial…
SGR 0526-66 was the first soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) from which a giant flare was detected in March 1979, suggesting the existence of magnetars, i.e. neutron stars powered by the decay of their extremely strong magnetic field. Since…
We report on the results of a ~30 ks Chandra pointing of the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20, the first X-ray observation with high spectral resolution performed after the 2004 December 27 Giant Flare. The source was found in a bursting…
Using Chandra data taken on 2008 June, we detected pulsations at 2.59439(4) s in the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41. This is the second measurement of the source spin period and allows us to derive for the first time a long-term…
We report on an observation of SGR 1627-41 made with the Chandra X-ray Observatory on 2011 June 16. Approximately three years after its outburst activity in 2008, the source's flux has been declining, as it approaches its quiescent state.…
We report on the discovery of a new member of the magnetar class, SGR J1935+2154, and on its timing and spectral properties measured by an extensive observational campaign carried out between July 2014 and March 2015 with Chandra and…
The recent discovery of the "weak field, old magnetar", the soft gamma repeater SGR 0418+5729, whose dipole magnetic field is less than 7.5 \times 10^{12} G, has raised perplexing questions: How can the neutron star produce SGR-like bursts…
We report on the quiescent state of the Soft Gamma Repeater SGR 0501+4516 observed by XMM-Newton on 2009 August 30. The source exhibits an absorbed flux ~75 times lower than that measured at the peak of the 2008 outburst, and a rather soft…
Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) undergo changes in their pulse properties and persistent emission during episodes of intense burst activity. Both SGR 1900+14 and SGR 1806-20 have shown significant changes in their spin-down rates during the…
Emission of two short hard X-ray bursts on 2009 June 5 disclosed the existence of a new soft gamma-ray repeater, now catalogued as SGR 0418+5729. After a few days, X-ray pulsations at a period of 9.1 s were discovered in its persistent…
A ~50 ks XMM-Newton observation of SGR 1900+14 has been carried out in September 2005, after almost three years during which no bursts were detected from this soft gamma-ray repeater. The 0.8-10 keV spectrum was well fit by a power law plus…
We examine the effects of a relativistic wind on the spin down of a neutron star and apply our results to the study of Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs), thought to be neutron stars with magnetic fields > 10^{14} G. We derive a spin-down formula…
It is now commonly believed that Soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are magnetars -- neutron stars powered by their magnetic fields. However, what differentiates these two seemingly dissimilar objects is, at…
The prolific magnetar SGR 1900+14 showed two outbursts in the last decade and has been closely monitored in the X-rays to track the changes in its radiative properties. We use archival Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of SGR 1900+14 to…
The sky region containing the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41 has been observed three times with XMM-Newton in February and September 2004. SGR 1627-41 has been detected with an absorbed flux of ~9x10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} (2-10…
The observed upper bound on the spin down rate of the otherwise typical Soft Gamma-ray Repeater SGR 0418+5729 has challenged the interpretation of this source as a neutron star with ultrastrong magnetic fields. Current limits imply a dipole…
Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) are interpreted as young highly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). Their X-ray luminosity in quiescence, exceeding 10^{35} erg s^{-1} cannot be explained as due to cooling of a…
Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) are among the most enigmatic sources known today. Exhibiting huge X- and Gamma-ray bursts and flares, as well as soft quiescent X-ray emission, their energy source remains a mystery. Just as mysterious are…
After nearly a decade of quiescence, the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41 reactivated on 2008 May 28 with a bursting episode followed by a slowly decaying enhancement of its persistent emission. To search for the still unknown spin…
The soft-gamma repeater SGR 1900+14 became active again on June 1998 after a long period of quiescence; it remained at a low state of activity until August 1998, when it emitted a series of extraordinarily intense outbursts. We have…