Magnetar giant flare high-energy emission

High-energy (>250 keV) emission has been detected persisting for several tens of seconds after the initial spike of magnetar giant flares (GFs). It has been conjectured that this emission might arise via inverse Compton scattering in a highly extended corona generated by super-Eddington outflows high up in the magnetosphere. In this paper, we undertake a detailed examination of this model. We investigate the properties of the required scatterers, and whether the mechanism is consistent with the degree of pulsed emission observed in the tail of the GF. We conclude that the mechanism is consistent with current data, although the origin of the scattering population remains an open question. We propose an alternative picture in which the emission is closer to that star and is dominated by synchrotron radiation. The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager observations of the 2004 December flare modestly favour this latter picture. We assess the prospects for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to detect and characterize a similar high-energy component in a future GF. Such a detection should help to resolve some of the outstanding issues.