Related papers: Observational Constraints on Pulsar Wind Theories
I review the constraints placed on relativistic pulsar winds by comparing optical and X-ray images of the inner Crab Nebula on the one hand with two-dimensional MHD simulations on the other. The various proposals in the literature for…
We present first results of three dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations of Pulsar Wind Nebulae. They show that the kink instability and magnetic dissipation inside these nebulae may be the key processes allowing to…
We review current theoretical ideas on pulsar winds and their surrounding nebulae. Relativistic MHD models of the wind of the aligned rotator, and of the striped wind, together with models of magnetic dissipation are discussed. It is shown…
Pulsars and central engines of long gamma ray burst -- collapsars -- may produce highly magnetized (Poynting flux dominated) outflows expanding in a dense surrounding (interstellar medium or stellar material). For certain injection…
Pulsar Wind Nebulae, and the Crab nebula in particular, are the best cosmic laboratories to investigate the dynamics of magnetized relativistic outflows and particle acceleration up to PeV energies. Multidimensional MHD modeling by means of…
The Crab Nebula demonstrates that neutron stars can interact with their environments in spectacular fashion, their relativistic winds generating nebulae observable across the electromagnetic spectrum. At many previous conferences,…
The Crab Nebula is one of the most efficient accelerators in the Galaxy and the only galactic source showing direct evidence of PeV particles. In spite of this, the physical process behind such effective acceleration is still a deep…
The spin-down power of a pulsar is thought to be carried away in an MHD wind in which, at least close to the star, the energy transport is dominated by Poynting flux. The pulsar drives a low-frequency wave in this wind, consisting of…
In this review we describe recent observational and theoretical developments in our understanding of pulsar winds and pulsar-wind nebulae (PWNe). We put special emphasis on the results from observations of well-characterized PWNe of various…
Bow shock pulsar wind nebulae are observed with a variety of complex morphologies at different wavelengths, most likely due to differences in the magnetic field strength and pulsar wind geometry. Here we present a detailed analysis, showing…
Pulsars steadily dissipate their rotational energy via relativistic winds. Confinement of these outflows generates luminous pulsar wind nebulae, seen across the electromagnetic spectrum in synchrotron and inverse Compton emission, and in…
I survey recent successes in the application of relativistic MHD and force-free electrodynamics to the modeling of the pulsars' rotational energy loss mechanism as well as to the structure and emission characteristics of Pulsar Wind…
In gamma-ray binaries neutron star is orbiting a companion that produces a strong stellar wind. We demonstrate that observed properties of "stellar wind"-"pulsar wind" interaction depend both on the overall wind thrust ratio, as well as…
The conversion of the Crab pulsar wind from one dominated by Poynting flux close to the star to one dominated by particle-born energy at the termination shock is considered. The idea put forward by Coroniti (1990) and criticised by…
A pulsar wind is a relativistic outflow dominated by Poynting energy at its base. Based on the standard ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) with the ordered magnetic field, the observed slow expansion $v_{\rm…
It is generally thought that most of the spin-down power of a pulsar is carried away in an MHD wind dominated by Poynting flux. In the case of an oblique rotator, a significant part of this energy can be considered to be in a low-frequency…
Flows in which energy is transported predominantly as Poynting flux are thought to occur in pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and relativistic jets from compact objects. The fluctuating component of the magnetic field in such a flow can in…
A plausible model for the Crab Nebula is one in which a particle dominated, highly relativistic wind from the pulsar passes through a shock front in which the particles attain a power law energy distribution. The electrons and positrons…
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.…
In the last decade, the relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modelling of pulsar wind nebulae, and of the Crab nebula in particular, has been highly successful, with many of the observed dynamical and emission properties reproduced down…