Related papers: Probing the Innermost Ejecta Layers in SNR Kes 75:…
One of the youngest known remnants of a core-collapse supernova (SN) in our Galaxy is G320.4$-$1.2/MSH 15-52 containing an energetic pulsar with a very short (1700 yr) spindown age and likely produced by a stripped-envelope SN Ibc. Bright…
In the past few years, gamma-ray astronomy has entered a golden age thanks to two major breakthroughs: Cherenkov telescopes on the ground and the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi satellite. The sample of supernova remnants…
Massive Stars (> 8 solar masses) lose mass in the form of strong winds. These winds accumulate around the star, forming wind-blown bubbles. When the star explodes as a supernova (SN), the resulting shock wave expands within this wind-blown…
HESS J1825-137 is a bright very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray source that has been firmly established as a pulsar wind nebula (PWN), and one of the most extended gamma-ray objects within this category. The progenitor supernova remnant (SNR)…
MSH 15-56 (G326.3-1.8) is a composite supernova remnant (SNR) that consists of an SNR shell and a displaced pulsar wind nebula (PWN) in the radio. We present XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observations of the remnant that reveal a compact…
While supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been considered prime candidates as sources of cosmic rays, it is only recently that X-ray observations have identified several shell-type SNRs dominated by nonthermal emission, thus revealing…
A pulsar wind nebula inside a supernova remnant provides a unique insight into the properties of the central neutron star, the relativistic wind powered by its loss of rotational energy, its progenitor supernova, and the surrounding…
We present a Chandra and XMM-Newton imaging and spectroscopic study of the supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 103 (G332.4-00.4) containing the Central Compact Object 1E 161348-5055. The high resolution Chandra X-ray images reveal enhanced emission…
We present radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions, artificially generated by driving a piston at the base of the envelope of a rotating or non-rotating red-supergiant progenitor star. We search for…
The composite supernova remnant (SNR) MSH 15-52 comprises the bright X-ray pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of PSR B1509-58, surrounded by a shell which is a prominent object in the radio domain. H.E.S.S. had discovered extended very-high-energy…
While theoretical dust condensation models predict that most refractory elements produced in core-collapse supernovae (SNe) efficiently condense into dust, a large quantity of dust has so far only been observed in SN 1987A. We present the…
We present high resolution spherically symmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the evolution of a pulsar wind nebula inside the free expanding ejecta of the supernova progenitor. The evolution is followed starting from a…
We present a new model for the spectral evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae inside Supernova Remnants. The model couples the long-term dynamics of these systems, as derived in the 1-D approximation, with a 1-zone description of the spectral…
The interaction between a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and its host supernova remnant (SNR) can produce a vast array of observable structures. Asymmetry present within these structures derives from the complexity of the composite system, where…
The Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) MSH 15-56 is a member of the class of composite SNRs that consists of the remnant shell and a displaced pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The earlier X-ray observations reported the comet-like morphology of the…
We report on a sensitive survey for radio pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) towards 27 energetic and/or high velocity pulsars. Observations were carried out at 1.4 GHz using the Very Large Array and the Australia Telescope Compact Array, and…
Supernovae (SNe) powered by interaction with circumstellar material provide evidence for intense stellar mass loss during the final years leading up to core collapse. We have argued that during and after core neon burning, internal gravity…
A newborn, rapidly rotating magnetar may form in a binary neutron star merger and drive a Poynting-flux-dominated relativistic jet. As the jet propagates outward, a forward shock (FS) and a reverse shock (RS) are formed, inflating a pulsar…
Observations of the inner radian of the Galactic disk at very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays have revealed at least 16 new sources. Besides shell type super-nova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) appear to be a dominant source population in…
Core-collapse supernovae (SNe) expand into a medium created by winds from the pre-SN progenitor. The SN explosion and resulting shock wave(s) heat up the surrounding plasma, giving rise to thermal X-ray emission, which depends on the…