Observation of Soft Gamma Repeaters with BeppoSAX

Abstract

In this paper I will briefly review what are, in my view, the main contributions of BeppoSAX to the understanding of the class of sources known as Soft Gamma Repeaters. These enigmatic sources were firmly identified as steady pulsars just during the operating lifetime of BeppoSAX. All the instruments onboard BeppoSAX have at some level contributed in this field with specific observations, always allowing high quality - sometimes unprecedented - studies of the quiescent counterparts or the bursting behavior of these sources. I will try to stress the results that were uniquely achieved by BeppoSAX and identify their impact on the knowledge of the physics at work in these sources.