Mass loading of bow shock pulsar wind nebulae

Morlino, G.; Lyutikov, Maxim; Vorster, M.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2189

Cited by 42 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…One such aspect is that the radio emission brightens with distance from the pulsar and becomes broader than the X-ray emission beyond ≈3′ (see Figure 6). Such behavior could possibly be caused by the entrainment of ambient matter (see also Morlino et al 2015), which decreases the flow speed, increases the transverse size of the tail, and leads to adiabatic cooling of the outflowing matter. This tentative explanation remains to be checked with detailed modeling of entrainment effects.…”

Section: Large-scale Pwn Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Chandra Observations of Outflows From PSR J1509–5850

Klingler

Kargaltsev

Rangelov

et al. 2016

ApJ

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PSR J1509-5850 is a middle-aged pulsar with a period of P≈89 ms and spin-down power oḟ =É 5.1 10 35 erg s −1 , at a distance of about 3.8 kpc. We report on deep Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of this pulsar and its pulsar wind nebula (PWN). In addition to the previously detected tail extending up to 7′ southwest from the pulsar (the southern outflow), the deep images reveal similarly long, faint, diffuse emission stretched toward the north (the northern outflow) and the fine structure of the compact nebula (CN) in the pulsar vicinity. The CN is resolved into two lateral tails and one axial tail pointing southwest (a morphology remarkably similar to that of the Geminga PWN), which supports the assumption that the pulsar moves toward the northeast. The luminosities of the southern and northern outflows are about1 10 33 and 4 10 32 erg s −1 , respectively. The spectra extracted from four regions of the southern outflow do not show any softening with increasing distance from the pulsar. The lack of synchrotron cooling suggests a high flow speed or in situ acceleration of particles. The spectra extracted from two regions of the northern outflow show a hint of softening with distance from the pulsar, which may indicate slower particle propagation. We speculate that the northern outflow is associated with particle leakage from the bow-shock apex into the ISM, while the southern outflow represents the tail of the shocked pulsar wind behind the moving pulsar. We estimate the physical parameters of the observed outflows and compare the J1509-5850 PWN with PWNe of other supersonically moving pulsars.

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Section: Large-scale Pwn Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Chandra Observations of Outflows From PSR J1509–5850

Klingler

Kargaltsev

Rangelov

et al. 2016

ApJ

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“…The spectrum softens by ∆Γ ∼ < 0.2 between the CN and the tail (see Table 3 and Figure 8), suggesting that the sharp drop in brightness 11 (a factor of ∼ > 6 over a 5 distance) is not associated with rapid cooling but should rather be attributed to the rapid flow expansion or/and drop in magnetic field strength. Rapid expansion is expected in models that take into account ISM entrainment into the wind behind supersonically moving pulsars (see Figure 7 in Morlino et al 2015).…”

Section: Stem and Tailmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Chandra Observations of the Pulsar Wind Nebula Created by PSR B0355+54

Klingler

Rangelov

Kargaltsev

et al. 2016

ApJ

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We report on Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) observations of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) associated with PSR B0355+54 (eight observations with a 395 ks total exposure, performed over an 8 month period). We investigated the spatial and spectral properties of the emission coincident with the pulsar, compact nebula (CN), and extended tail. We find that the CN morphology can be interpreted in a way that suggests a small angle between the pulsar spin axis and our line-of-sight, as inferred from the radio data. On larger scales, emission from the 7 (≈ 2 pc) tail is clearly seen. We also found hints of two faint extensions nearly orthogonal to the direction of the pulsar's proper motion. The spectrum extracted at the pulsar position can be described with an absorbed power-law + blackbody model. The nonthermal component can be attributed to magnetospheric emission, while the thermal component can be attributed to emission from either a hot spot (e.g., a polar cap) or the entire neutron star surface. Surprisingly, the spectrum of the tail shows only a slight hint of cooling with increasing distance from the pulsar. This implies either a low magnetic field with fast flow speed, or particle re-acceleration within the tail. We estimate physical properties of the PWN and compare the morphologies of the CN and the extended tail with those of other bow shock PWNe observed with long CXO exposures.

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“…In such situation it is possible that the shocked ambient material can be entrained in the pulsar wind flow altering its structure, dynamics, and emission properties. The entrainment of ambient matter in the pulsar wind is largely an unexplored area (see, however, Lyutikov 2003; Morlino et al 2015). Further simulations of bow shock PWNe combining these effects (relativistic velocities, ambient medium non-uniformity and entrainment, pulsar wind anisotropy and dynamical role of the magnetic fields, 3D geometry and instabilities) can provide a realistic picture for comparison with the observations.…”

Section: The Crab and Vela Pwne: Similarities And Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%