Discovery of the Inner Ring around PSR B1509-58

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution Chandra X-ray imaging to discover an inner ring around pulsar PSR B1509-58, providing insights into the pulsar wind termination shock and magnetic properties.

Contribution

It reports the first detection of an inner ring around PSR B1509-58, constrains the wind magnetization, and compares the nebula's morphology with theoretical models.

Findings

Inner ring detected at 10'' from the pulsar

Magnetization parameter sigma >= 0.01

Broad jet extends beyond the wind termination shock

Abstract

A Chandra study of pulsar wind nebula around the young energetic pulsar PSR B1509-58 is presented. The high resolution X-ray image with total exposure time of 190 ks reveals a ring like feature 10'' apart from the pulsar. This feature is analogous to the inner ring seen in the Crab nebula and thus may correspond to a wind termination shock. The shock radius enables us to constrain the wind magnetization, sigma>= 0.01. The obtained sigma is one order of magnitude larger than that of the Crab nebula. In the pulsar vicinity, the southern jet appears to extend beyond the wind termination shock, in contrast to the narrow jet of the Crab. The revealed morphology of the broad jet is coincident with the recently proposed theoretical model in which a magnetic hoop stress diverts and squeezes the post-shock equatorial flow towards the poloidal direction generating a jet.