Multiwavelength Studies of Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Pulsars are among nature's most powerful particle accelerators, capable of producing particles up to PeV energies. As a neutron star rotates, its rotational energy is imparted to an ultra-relativistic magnetized particle wind. The initially highly relativistic wind decelerates abruptly in a termination shock (TS). Downstream of the TS, the gyration of particles in the magnetic field produces synchrotron radiation observable from radio to MeV gamma-rays, and the upscattering of background photons produces inverse-Compton radiation observable from GeV to TeV gamma-rays. This phenomenon is known as a pulsar wind nebula (PWN). In this thesis I investigate the diverse morphological and spectral properties of PWNe. I present the results of detailed multiwavelength studies of four PWNe: three of them produced by supersonic pulsars with remarkable extended tails, and one of them with an uncertain and puzzling morphology. I discuss the connections between the spatial and spectral morphologies of PWNe and the physical properties of their pulsars inferred from timing analyses. I compare the predictions made from models of spatially-dependent pulsar tail emission with observational data. Additionally, I present adaptively-binned spatially-resolved spectral maps of the 12 brightest PWNe, and discuss the properties of the sample, the distribution of injected particle spectra, and the implications these results have in advancing our understanding of the particle acceleration mechanism of pulsars.

Author

• Klingler, Noel

Language

• English

Keyword

• wind nebulae
• pulsar
• pulsars
• astrophysics

Date created

• 2019

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Physics

Degree

• Ph.D.

Advisor

• Kargaltsev, Oleg Y

Committee Member(s)

• Feldman, Gerakd
• Timokhin, Andrey
• van der Horst, Alexander
• Kouveliotou, Chryssa

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/pg15bf77g