Strange star heating events as a model for giant flares of soft-gamma-ray repeaters - art. no. 021101

Two giant flares were observed on 5 March 1979 and 27 August 1998 from the soft gamma -ray repeaters SGR 0526 - 66 and SGR 1900 + 14, respectively. Th e striking similarity between these remarkable bursts strongly implies a co mmon nature. We show that the light curves of the giant bursts may be easil y explained in the model where the burst radiation is produced by the bare quark surface of a strange star heated, for example, by impact of a massive cometlike object.