Magnetars: general properties and recent developments

Abstract

Magnetars, which form a growing subgroup of neutron stars, possess the strongest magnetic field environments in the universe. The last few years has been very fruitful for magnetars: three new sources were discovered and one source was correctly identified as an SGR, and all these sources have been studied in depth across the electromagnetic spectrum. Here, we present a brief overview of the latest developments in the world of magnetars and discuss their implications on the estimates of the number of magnetar sources and the rate at which they might emit extremely energetic giant flares.