Spectral Break of Energetic Pulsar Wind Nebulae Detected with Wideband X-ray Observations

Abstract

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are one of the most energetic galactic sources with bright emissions from radio waves to very high-energy gamma-rays. We perform wideband X-ray spectroscopy of four energetic PWNe, N157B, PSR J1813-1749, PSR J1400-6325, and G21.5-0.9, with the Suzaku, Chandra, NuSTAR, and Hitomi observatories. A significant spectral break or cutoff feature is found in the hard X-ray band for all the samples, except for N157B. The break energies in the broken power-law fitting are in the range of 4--14 keV, whereas the cutoff energies in the cutoff power-law fitting are at 22 keV or higher. The break or cutoff energy does not show a significant correlation with either the spin-down energy or characteristic age of the hosting pulsars. A possible correlation is found between the photon index change in the broken power-law fitting and the X-ray emitting efficiency of the pulsars, although its significance is not high enough to be conclusive. We discuss what determines the break parameters based on simple models.

arXiv comment21 pages, 22 figures, PASJ, accepted

References in corpus (53)

• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
• The Evolution and Structure of Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• Modeling the spectral evolution of PWNe inside SNRs
• Discovery of an Ultra-fast X-ray Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant N157B
• Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
• A Dynamical Model for the Evolution of a Pulsar Wind Nebula inside a Non-Radiative Supernova Remnant
• A Model of the Spectral Evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• Spatial Variation of the X-ray spectrum of the Crab Nebula
• Fitting Pulsar Wind Tori. II. Error Analysis and Applications
• Cross-calibration of the X-ray Instruments onboard the Chandra, INTEGRAL, RXTE, Suzaku, Swift, and XMM-Newton Observatories using G21.5-0.9
• Chandra Observations of the Crab-like Supernova Remnant G21.5-0.9
• Observations of "wisps" in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Crab Nebula
• PSR J1833-1034: Discovery of the Central Young Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant G21.5-0.9
• Pulsar-Wind Nebulae: Recent Progress in Observations and Theory
• Diffusion in Pulsar Wind Nebulae: An Investigation using Magnetohydrodynamic and Particle Transport Models
• Broadband X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar with NuSTAR
• CHANDRA ACIS Spectroscopy of N157B -- A Young Composite Supernova Remnant in a Superbubble
• Study of Four Young TeV Pulsar Wind Nebulae with a Spectral Evolution Model
• X-Ray Observations of the supernova remnant G21.5-0.9
• Chandra Localizations and Spectra of INTEGRAL Sources in the Galactic Plane: The Cycle 9 Sample
• Non-Thermal X-ray Properties of Rotation Powered Pulsars and Their Wind Nebulae
• Discovery of a Radio Supernova Remnant and Non-thermal X-rays Coincident with the TeV Source HESS J1813-178
• Detection of an X-ray Pulsar Wind Nebula and Tail in SNR N157B
• Properties of Young Pulsar Wind Nebulae: TeV Detectability and Their Pulsar Properties
• Synchrotron-Loss Spectral Breaks in Pulsar-Wind Nebulae and Extragalactic Jets
• Chandra pulsar survey (ChaPS)
• NuSTAR study of Hard X-Ray Morphology and Spectroscopy of PWN G21.5-0.9
• Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• The Plerionic Supernova Remnant G21.5-0.9 Powered by PSR J1833-1034: New Spectroscopic and Imaging Results Revealed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory
• X-ray Evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• The nature of the X-ray halo of the plerion G21.5-0.9 unveiled by XMM-Newton and Chandra
• Discovery of a highly energetic pulsar associated with IGR J14003-6326 in a young uncataloged Galactic supernova remnant G310.6-1.6
• The Extended X-ray Halo of the Crab-like SNR G21.5-0.9
• Soft X-ray Imager aboard Hitomi (ASTRO-H)
• Discovery of the Putative Pulsar and Wind Nebula Associated with the TeV Gamma-ray Source HESS J1813-178
• High-precision geometry of a double-pole pulsar
• Discovery of a Highly Energetic X-ray Pulsar Powering HESS J1813-178 in the Young Supernova Remnant G12.82-0.02
• Spin-Down Measurement of PSR J1813-1749: The Energetic Pulsar Powering HESS J1813-178
• Discovery of a Spin-Down State Change in the LMC Pulsar B0540-69
• Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the extragalactic pulsar wind nebula N157B with the High Energy Stereoscopic System
• X-ray and Rotational Luminosity Correlation and Magnetic Heating of the Radio Pulsars
• The deepest Chandra X-ray study of the plerionic supernova remnant G21.5$-$0.9
• The radiative X-ray and gamma-ray efficiencies of rotation powered pulsars
• Chandra View of Pulsar Wind Nebula Tori
• The Nonstandard Properties of a "Standard" PWN: Unveiling the Mysteries of PWN G21.5-0.9 Using its IR and X-ray emission
• Broadband Photon Spectrum and its Radial Profile of Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• Outflow and Emission Model of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with the Back-reaction of Particle Diffusion
• X-ray spectroscopy of the starburst feedback in 30 Doradus
• Hitomi X-ray Observation of the Pulsar Wind Nebula G21.5$-$0.9
• The braking index of PSR B0540-69 and the associated pulsar wind nebula emission after spin-down rate transition
• A Comprehensive Study of the Spectral Variation and the Brightness Profile of Young Pulsar Wind Nebulae
• On the Expansion, Age, and Origin of the Puzzling Shell/Pulsar Wind Nebula G310.6-1.6

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Emission lines due to ionizing radiation from a compact object in the remnant of Supernova 1987A
• Analysis of the possible detection of the pulsar wind nebulae of PSR J1208-6238, J1341-6220, J1838-0537 and J1844-0346
• New Hard X-Ray and Multiwavelength Study of the PeVatron Candidate PWN G0.9+0.1 in the Galactic Center Region