Pulsar Wind Nebulae: On their growing diversity and association with highly magnetized neutron stars

Abstract

The 1968 discovery of the Crab and Vela pulsars in their respective supernova remnants (SNRs) confirmed Baade and Zwicky's 1934 prediction that supernovae form neutron stars. Observations of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), particularly with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, have in the past decade opened a new window to focus on the neutron stars' relativistic winds, study their interaction with their hosting SNRs, and find previously missed pulsars. While the Crab has been thought for decades to represent the prototype of PWNe, we now know of different classes of neutron stars and PWNe whose properties differ from the Crab. In this talk, I review the current status of neutron stars/PWNe-SNRs associations, and highlight the growing diversity of PWNe with an X-ray eye on their association with highly magnetized neutron stars. I conclude with an outlook to future high-energy studies.

Invited review. Proceedings of IAUS 291 "Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years", J. van Leeuwen (ed.); 6 pages, 2 colour figures

References in corpus (7)

• Magnetar-like Emission from the Young Pulsar in Kes 75
• Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
• Deep Chandra Observation of the Pulsar Wind Nebula Powered by the Pulsar J1846-0258 in the Supernova Remnant Kes 75
• Using Chandra to Unveil the High-Energy Properties of the High-Magnetic Field Radio Pulsar J1119-6127
• Discovery of extended X-ray emission around the highly magnetic RRAT J1819-1458
• XMM-Newton view of Swift J1834.9-0846 and its Magnetar Wind Nebula
• Chandra and XMM-Newton studies of the supernova remnant G292.2-0.5 associated with the pulsar J1119-6127

Cited by in corpus (2)

• PSR J1119-6127 and its pulsar wind nebula following the magnetar-like bursts
• On the Diversity of Compact Objects within Supernova Remnants II: Energy Loss Mechanisms