X-ray evolution of pulsar wind nebulae

Abstract

During the search for counterparts of very high energy gamma-ray sources, we serendipitously discovered large, extended, low surface brightness emission from pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) around pulsars with the ages up to ∼100 kyr, a discovery made possible by the low and stable background of the Suzaku X-ray satellite. A systematic study of a sample of eight of these PWNe, together with Chandra data sets, has revealed that the nebulae keep expanding up to ∼100 kyr, although the timescale of the synchrotron X-ray emission is only ∼60 yr for typical magnetic fields of 100 μG. Our result suggests that the accelerated electrons up to ∼80 TeV can escape from the PWNe without losing most energies. Moreover, in order to explain the observed correlation between the X-ray size and the pulsar spin-down age, the magnetic field strength in the PWNe must decrease with time. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.