Fitting Pulsar Wind Tori. II. Error Analysis and Applications

Abstract

We have applied the torus-fitting procedure described in our previous works to pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) observations in the Chandra data archive. This study provides quantitative measurements of the PWN geometry, and we characterize the uncertainties in the fits, with statistical errors coming from the fit uncertainties and systematic errors being estimated by varying the assumed fitting model. The symmetry axis Ψ of the PWN is both generally well determined and highly model-independent. We often derive a robust value for the spin inclination ζ. We briefly discuss the utility of these results in comparison with new radio and high-energy pulse measurements.