The short gamma-ray burst – SGR giant flare connection

We review the notion that some extragalactic giant magnetar flares could be mistaken for short cosmic gamma-ray bursts. There are at least two general ways to approach this problem. One is statistical, while the other considers individual bursts. Both methods appear to agree that extragalactic flares can be, and indeed are, present in the short burst population, although the rate of such events remains uncertain. The statistical studies all suggest a rate of ∼1–15% in the short GRB sample.