Oral Presentation

Magnetars in the Milky Way and Beyond

Author(s): Ersin Göğüş (Sabancı University, İstanbul)

Presenter: Ersin Göğüş (Sabancı University, İstanbul)

Magnetars are isolated neutron stars that possess the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe. Their long-term pulsed X-ray emission suggests they are young systems. The most striking characteristic of magnetars is their emission of energetic bursts—brief events lasting only a fraction of a second yet typically releasing energies exceeding 10⁴⁰ erg. On rare occasions, magnetars produce giant flares, which exhibit distinctive, minutes-long morphologies and release energy reaching or surpassing 10⁴⁴ erg.

In this talk, I will provide an overview of magnetar bursts detected by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor aboard Fermi, with a particular focus on two prolific magnetars: SGR J1550-5418 and SGR J1935+2154. These objects have emitted short radio bursts, including fast radio bursts (FRBs). I will also review recent observations of magnetar giant flares from nearby galaxies and discuss their potential role in producing FRBs.