Catching magnetar candidates among unidentified INTEGRAL sources with XMM

Magnetars are a rare class of isolated neutron stars, whose emission propertieschallenged in the past few years all the theories of radiative processes inpresence of extreme magnetic i??elds. Catching new magnetar candidates andenlarge the known sample of these peculiar ob jects is vital in order to testsuch theories, provide the basis for new developments and clarify thedifferences and connections among the whole family of isolated neutron stars.The aim of this proposal is to identify the three most promising magnetarcandidates, selected among a large number of still unidentii??ed INTEGRALsources. Their hard and peculiar Xray spectrum and closeness to the galacticplane suggested they most likely belong to the magnetar class. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]