University of Massachusetts - High Energy Astrophysics Group
Pulsars and Supernova Remnants
Supernova remnants (SNRs) are the products of supernova (SN) explosions.
After the explosion the blast wave can heat the nearby interstellar
medium to a few million to several tens of million degrees, whose thermal
radiation is mainly in the X-ray band. We can thus study the
evolutionary parameter and ionization status of the SNRs, chemical composite
of the SN progenitor as well as the interaction of the blast wave and the
interstellar medium.
Some of the SN explosions will produce central compact objects: pulsars
and black holes. Some of the SNRs are indeed powered by their pulsars, which
are called plerions or pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). The Crab nebula is the
first and the most famous object among them. After the launch of
Chandra,
because of its superb spatial resolution and high sensitivity,
many fine structures tracing the relativistic electrons from the pulsars to
the nebulae have been discovered, brings a new era of PWNe study. Please have
a look at the Chandra pictures of the
Crab nebula,
the jet and arcs of the Vela pulsar. You will find how fascinating they are!
