Formation Rates and Evolution Histories of Magnetars

Understand

We constrain the formation rate of Galactic magnetars directly from observations.

• Combining spin-down rates, magnetic activity, and association with supernova remnants, we put a 2$\sigma$ limit on their Galactic formation rate at $2.3-20\mbox{kyr}^{-1}$.
• This leads to a fraction $0.4_{-0.28}^{+0.6}$ of neutron stars being born as magnetars.
• We study evolutionary channels that can account for this rate as well as for the periods, period derivatives and luminosities of the observed population.