Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks

Details Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks

2006-10-16

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0610454v1

Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.374:793-808,2007

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Accepted for publication in MNRAS. High resolution pdf can be found at: http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~mvigeliu/downloads/bsp

Scientific paper

10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11193.x

We present three-dimensional, nonrelativistic, hydrodynamic simulations of bow shocks in pulsar wind nebulae. The simulations are performed for a range of initial and boundary conditions to quantify the degree of asymmetry produced by latitudinal variations in the momentum flux of the pulsar wind, radiative cooling in the postshock flow, and density gradients in the interstellar medium (ISM). We find that the bow shock is stable even when travelling through a strong ISM gradient. We demonstrate how the shape of the bow shock changes when the pulsar encounters density variations in the ISM. We show that a density wall can account for the peculiar bow shock shapes of the nebulae around PSR J2124-3358 and PSR B0740-28. A wall produces kinks in the shock, whereas a smooth ISM density gradient tilts the shock. We conclude that the anisotropy of the wind momentum flux alone cannot explain the observed bow shock morphologies but it is instead necessary to take into account external effects. We show that the analytic (single layer, thin shell) solution is a good approximation when the momentum flux is anisotropic, fails for a steep ISM density gradient, and ap- proaches the numerical solution for efficient cooling. We provide analytic expressions for the latitudinal dependence of a vacuum-dipole wind and the associated shock shape, and compare the results to a split-monopole wind. We find that we are unable to distinguish between these two wind models purely from the bow shock morphology.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of asymmetric pulsar wind bow shocks will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-243753