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The Gamma-Ray Giant Flare from SGR 1806-20: Evidence of Crustal Cracking via Initial Timescales

Kataria, D. O.; Zane, Silvia; Schwartz, Steven J. +6 more

Soft γ-ray repeaters (SGRs) are neutron stars that emit short (<~1 s) and energetic (<~10⁴² ergs s^-1) bursts of soft γ-rays. Only four of them are currently known. Occasionally, SGRs have been observed to emit much more energetic ``giant flares'' (~10⁴⁴-10⁴⁵ ergs s^-1). These are exceptio…