Discovery of a Synchrotron Bubble Associated with PSR J1015-5719

Journal
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Ng, C. -Y.
•
•
Hunstead, R. W.
•
Johnston, S.
DOI
Abstract
We report the discovery of a synchrotron nebula, G283.1-0.59, associated with PSR J1015-5719. Radio observations using the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 36, 16, 6, and 3 cm reveal a complex morphology. The pulsar is embedded in the “head” of the nebula with fan-shaped diffuse emission. This is connected to a circular bubble of 20″ radius and a collimated tail extending over 1′. Polarization measurements show a highly ordered magnetic field in the nebula. It wraps around the edge of the head and shows an azimuthal configuration near the pulsar, then switches direction quasi-periodically near the bubble and in the tail. Together with the flat radio spectrum observed, we suggest that this system is most plausibly a pulsar wind nebula (PWN), with the head as a bow shock that has a low Mach number and the bubble as a shell expanding in a dense environment. The bubble could act as a magnetic bottle trapping the relativistic particles. A comparison with other bow-shock PWNe with higher Mach numbers shows similar structure and B-field geometry, implying that pulsar velocity may not be the most critical factor in determining the properties of these systems. We also derive analytic expressions for the projected standoff distance and shape of an inclined bow shock. It is found that the projected distance is always larger than the true distance in three dimensions. On the other hand, the projected shape is not sensitive to the inclination after rescaling with the projected standoff distance.

Volume
842
Issue
2
Start page
100
Uri
Url
Issn Identifier
0004-637X
Ads BibCode
2017ApJ...842..100N
Rights
open.access
File(s)
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name

Ng_2017_ApJ_842_100.pdf

Size

2.46 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

9633c360cb4d8be28e40b178a61fd336

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name

1706.02978.pdf

Description
preprint
Size

776.8 KB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

2498ebc8e7ce48c3de9a26f29c72791c