Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997phdt.........8p&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PHD). THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL , Source DAI-B 58/04, p. 1925, Oct 1997, 127 pages.
Physics
Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Within the last few years, a new class of binary stars has been discovered. There are now two known examples of radio pulsars with massive, main sequence companions (OB stars), one in our galaxy and one in the Small Magellanic Cloud. These systems represent a stage in the evolution of some massive binaries which can be thought of as the 'missing link' between the first neutron star formation and accreting High Mass X-ray Binaries. In this thesis, I investigate two aspects of pulsar/OB star binaries. The first part is a report on a radio search for pulsar companions to 'runaway' OB stars using standard pulsar searching techniques. While no new pulsars were discovered, this search allows us to place constraints on pulsar natal 'kick' velocities. In the second part, a relativistic magnetohydrodynamic model is constructed to investigate the X-ray emission observed from PSR B1259-63, the abovementioned binary system in our galaxy. Our model suggests that the observed high energy emission is produced by the interaction that occurs as the relativistic wind from the pulsar collides with the normal stellar wind from the B star. These systems are not only useful to our understanding of massive binary stellar evolution, they also provide unique astrophysical laboratories for studying high energy phenomena and plasma physics in extreme environments.
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