Related papers: Solution to the Sigma-Problem of Pulsar Wind Nebul…
This work presents three dimensional, magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of the formation and early evolution of a subgroup of planetary nebulae that exhibit a variety of point-symmetric structures. For bipolar nebulae, the formation of…
We study the transport of high-energy particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) using three-dimensional MHD (see Porth et al. (2014) for details) and test-particle simulations, as well as a Fokker-Planck particle transport model. The latter…
I outline a new model of particle acceleration in the current sheet separating the closed from the open field lines in the force-free model of pulsar magnetospheres, based on reconnection at the light cylinder and "auroral" acceleration…
Bow Shock Pulsar Wind Nebulae are a class of non-thermal sources, that form when the wind of a pulsar moving at supersonic speed interacts with the ambient medium, either the ISM or in a few cases the cold ejecta of the parent supernova.…
Pulsar wind nebulae are a possible final stage of the circumstellar evolution of massive stars, where a fast rotating, magnetised neutron star produces a powerful wind that interacts with the supernova ejecta. The shape of these so called…
The extended nebulae formed as pulsar winds expand into their surroundings provide information about the composition of the winds, the injection history from the host pulsar, and the material into which the nebulae are expanding.…
Our understanding of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), has greatly improved in the last years thanks to unprecedented high resolution images taken from the HUBBLE, CHANDRA and XMM satellites. The discovery of complex but similar inner features,…
We discuss the observational properties of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) linking them to the injected (at the termination shock) electron spectral energy distribution and parameters of pulsar magnetospheres. In particular, we (1) present…
The energy lost by a rotation-powered pulsar is carried by a relativistic flow containing a mixture of electromagnetic fields and particles. In the inner regions, this is thought to be a magnetically dominated, cold, electron-positron wind…
The large-scale structure of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) tells us a considerable amount about their average magnetic fields, the total particle input from the pulsar winds, and the confining pressure at their outer boundaries. However, the…
Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) act as calorimeters for the relativistic pair winds emanating from within the pulsar light cylinder. Their radiative dissipation in various wavebands is significantly different from that of their pulsar central…
The main goal of our present work is to provide, for the first time, a simple computational tool that can be used to compute the brightness, the spectral index, the polarization, the time variability and the spectrum of the non-thermal…
We investigate the dynamics of bow shock nebulae created by pulsars moving supersonically through a partially ionized interstellar medium. A fraction of interstellar neutral hydrogen atoms penetrating into the tail region of a pulsar wind…
A wind nebula generating extended X-ray emission was recently detected surrounding Swift 1834.9-0846. This is the first magnetar for which such a (pulsar) wind nebula (PWN) was found. I demonstrate that Swift 1834.9-0846's nebula can be…
A spherically symmetric model is presented for the interaction of a pulsar wind with the associated supernova remnant. This results in a pulsar wind nebula whose evolution is coupled to the evolution of the surrounding supernova remnant.…
Of the known pulsar wind nebulae, 8 are good candidates for being in the early stage of evolution where the wind nebula is interacting with the freely expanding supernova ejecta. Several of these have been identified with historical…
We investigate the dynamics of bow shock nebulae created by pulsars moving supersonically through a partially ionized interstellar medium. A fraction of interstellar neutral hydrogen atoms penetrating into the tail region of a pulsar wind…
Recent work on the properties of superluminal waves in pulsar winds is summarized. It is speculated that these waves play an important role in the termination shock that divides the wind from the surrounding nebula.
Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) are ideal astrophysical laboratories where high energy relativistic phenomena can be investigated. They are close, well resolved in our observations, and the knowledge derived in their study has a strong impact in…
A significative fraction of high mass stars sail away through the interstellar medium of the galaxies. Once they evolved and died via a core collapse supernova, a magnetized, rotating neutron star (a pulsar) is usually their leftover. The…