Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2011-09-08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
13 pages, 2 Fig., ApJL, accepted
Scientific paper
We investigate a class of pulsar wind nebulae that show synchrotron emission from a thick toroidal structure. The best studied such object is the small radio and X-ray nebula around the Vela pulsar, which can be interpreted as the result of interaction of a mildly supersonic inward flow with the recent pulsar wind. Such a flow near the center of a supernova remnant can be produced in a transient phase when the reverse shock reaches the center of the remnant. Other nebulae with a thick toroidal structure are G106.6+2.9 and G76.9+1.0. Their structure contrasts with young pulsar nebulae like the Crab Nebula and 3C 38, which show a more chaotic, filamentary structure in the synchrotron emission. In both situations, a torus-jet structure is present where the pulsar wind passes through a termination shock, indicating the flow is initially toroidal. We suggest that the difference is due to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability that operates when the outer boundary of the nebula is accelerating into freely expanding supernova ejecta. The instability gives rise to mixing in the Crab and related objects, but is not present in the nebulae with thick toroidal regions.
Chevalier Roger A.
Reynolds Stephen P.
No associations
LandOfFree
Pulsar Wind Nebulae with Thick Toroidal Structure 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 Pulsar Wind Nebulae with Thick Toroidal Structure, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pulsar Wind Nebulae with Thick Toroidal Structure will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-475511