Kavli Affiliate: Nicola Omodei | Summary:Magnetar giant flares (MGFs) are rare, extremely bright bursts of gamma-rays from highly magnetized neutron stars. These events are challenging to identify because, at extragalactic distances, they can appear similar to other astrophysical phenomena. Only a handful have been confidently identified to date, limiting our understanding of their origin and […]
Continue.. From Rare Events to a Population: Discovering Overlooked Extragalactic Magnetar Giant Flare Candidates in Archival Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor Data