In a groundbreaking study [Castro-Tirado, Østgaard, Göğüş et al., 2021] published in the last issue of Nature in 2021, the authors (including 8 researchers from BCSS) reported – for the first time – the fine structure of the main burst phase of a magnetar. These data had been collected by ASIM when the gigantic burst entered our solar system on April 15, 2020, after travelling more than 10 million years through space. While 6 other instruments experienced saturation effects, ASIM was – as the only instrument – able to perform high-quality measurements throughout the event. This resulted in groundbreaking results: “During the initial hard spike, two prominent, high-frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) are observed”, says Ersin Göğüş (Sabancı University, Turkey). “This will likely be a game-changer in our understanding of magnetar giant flares”, adds Castro-Tirado.
The University of Malaga (UMA) in Spain has recently awarded this magnetar paper the First Prize for Excellence Research Works! Here is a link to the letter of award (in Spanish). Also, a link to all the media news that were written after the publication of the paper back in December 2021.
