Physics and Observations of Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Abstract

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are the largest class of Galactic high energy TeV sources. A pulsar is a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star produced in a supernova explosion at the end stage of massive stellar evolution. As a pulsar spins down, its rotational energy is mainly carried away by a relativistic particle outflow known as a pulsar wind. The interaction of the wind with the surrounding medium results in a termination shock, in which the particles are re-accelerated to ultra-relativistic energies. This gives rise to a PWN downstream, emitting broadband radiation from radio to X-rays to gamma-rays. In this talk, I will give a general overview of PWNe and highlight some recent results from multi-wavelength observations.