Pulsar Wind Nebulae Created by Fast-Moving Pulsars

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent multiwavelength observations of pulsar wind nebulae created by fast-moving pulsars, highlighting diverse morphologies, spectral behaviors, and new phenomena revealed by advanced telescopes.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent observational advances and their implications for understanding supersonic pulsar wind nebulae and pulsar motion effects.

Findings

Diverse morphologies of SPWNe observed with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Hubble.

Identification of different spectral behaviors in long pulsar tails.

Detection of puzzling outflows and far-UV bow shocks.

Abstract

We review multiwavelength properties of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) created by supersonically moving pulsars and the effects of pulsar motion on the PWN morphologies and the ambient medium. Supersonic pulsar wind nebulae (SPWNe) are characterized by bow-shaped shocks around the pulsar and/or cometary tails filled with the shocked pulsar wind. In the past several years significant advances in SPWN studies have been made in deep observations with the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray Observatories as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. In particular, these observations have revealed very diverse SPWN morphologies in the pulsar vicinity, different spectral behaviors of long pulsar tails, the presence of puzzling outflows misaligned with the pulsar velocity, and far-UV bow shocks. Here we review the current observational status focusing on recent developments and their implications.