Full-3D relativistic MHD simulations of Bow Shock Pulsar Wind Nebulae: dynamics

Bow shock pulsar wind nebulae (BSPWNe) are know to show a large variety of shapes and morphologies, both when comparing different objects, and for the same object in different energy bands. It is unclear if such a variety is related to differences in the pulsar wind properties, or to differences in the conditions of the ambient medium. We present here a set of full three-dimensional, relativistic and magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of BSPWNe, with the intention of determining how differences in the injection conditions by the pulsar wind reflect in the nebular dynamics. To achieve a good coverage of the available parameter space we have run several simulations varying those parameters that are most representative of the wind properties: the latitudinal anisotropy of the wind energy flux with respect to the pulsar spin axis, the level of magnetization, the inclination of the pulsar spin axis with respect to the pulsar direction of motion. We have followed the dynamics in these systems, not just in the very head, but also in the tail, trying to assess if and how the system retains memory of the injection at large distances from the pulsar itself. In this paper we focus our attention on the characterization of the fluid structure and magnetic field properties. We have tried to evaluate the level of turbulence in the tail, and its relation to injection, the survival of current sheets, and the degree of mixing between the shocked ambient medium and the relativistic pulsar wind material.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, 1 tabl

Escape of High Energy Particles from Bow-Shock Pulsar Wind Nebulae

The detection of bright X-ray features and large TeV halos around old pulsars that have escaped their parent Supernova Remnants and are interacting directly with the ISM, suggest that high energy particles, more likely high energy pairs, can escape from these systems, and that this escape if far more complex than a simple diffusive model can predict. Here we present for the first time a detailed analysis of how high energy particles escape from the head of the bow shock. In particular we focus our attention on the role of the magnetic field geometry, and the inclination of the pulsar spin axis with respect to the direction of the pulsar kick velocity. We show that asymmetries in the escape pattern of charged particles are common, and they are strongly energy dependent. More interestingly we show that the flow of particles from bow-shock pulsar wind nebulae is likely to be charge separated, which might have profound consequences on the way such flow interacts with the ISM magnetic field, driving local turbulence

Detectability of continuous gravitational waves from magnetically deformed neutron stars

Neutron stars are known to contain extremely powerful magnetic fields. Their effect is to deform the shape of the star, leading to the potential emission of continuous gravitational waves. The magnetic deformation of neutron stars, however, depends on the geometry and strength of their internal magnetic field as well as on their composition, described by the equation of state. Unfortunately, both the configuration of the magnetic field and the equation of state of neutron stars are unknown, and assessing the detectability of continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars suffers from these uncertainties. Using our recent results relating the magnetic deformation of a neutron star to its mass and radius—based on models with realistic equations of state currently allowed by observational and nuclear physics constraints—and considering the Galactic pulsar population, we assess the detectability of continuous gravitational waves from pulsars in the galaxy by current and future gravitational waves detectors

On the origin of jet-like features in bow shock pulsar wind nebulae

Bow shock pulsar wind nebulae are a large class of non-thermal synchrotron sources associated to old pulsars that have emerged from their parent supernova remnant and are directly interacting with the interstellar medium. Within this class a few objects show extended X-ray features, generally referred as `jets', that defies all the expectations from the canonical MHD models, being strongly misaligned respect to the pulsar direction of motion. It has been suggested that these jets might originate from high energy particles that escape from the system. Here we investigate this possibility, computing particle trajectories on top of a 3D relativistic MHD model of the flow and magnetic field structure, and we show not only that beamed escape is possible, but that it can easily be asymmetric and charge separated, which as we will discuss are important aspects to explain known objects

Characterization of the optical and X-ray properties of the northwestern wisps in the Crab Nebula

We have studied the wisps to the north-west of the Crab pulsar as part of a multi-wavelength campaign in the visible and in X-rays. Optical observations were obtained using the Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma and X-ray observations were made with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The observing campaign took place from 2010 October until 2012 September. About once per year we observe wisps forming and peeling off from (or near) the region commonly associated with the termination shock of the pulsar wind. We find that the exact locations of the northwestern wisps in the optical and in X-rays are similar but not coincident, with X-ray wisps preferentially located closer to the pulsar. This suggests that the optical and X-ray wisps are not produced by the same particle distribution. Our measurements and their implications are interpreted in terms of a Doppler-boosted ring model that has its origin in magne- tohydrodynamic (MHD) modelling. While the Doppler boosting factors inferred from the X-ray wisps are consistent with current MHD simulations of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN), the optical boosting factors are not, and typically exceed values from MHD simulations by about a factor of 3.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure

Numerical Equilibrium Configurations and Quadrupole Moments of Post-Merger Differentially Rotating Relativistic Stars

Numerical simulations of binary neutron star mergers invariably show that, when a long-lived remnant forms, its rotation profile is never a simple decaying function of the radius but rather exhibits a maximum rotation rate shifted away from the center. This is in contrast to the usual differential rotation profile employed for the numerical modeling of axisymmetric equilibria of relativistic stars. Two families of rotation rate functions that mimic post-merger profiles were proposed by Uryū et al. (2017). In this work we implement Uryū's profiles into the XNS code by Bucciantini and Del Zanna (2011) and we present novel equilibrium sequences of differentially rotating neutron stars. These are constructed by using three different equations of state, in order to study the dependence of mass, radius, angular momentum, and other important physical quantities, especially the quadrupole deformation and metric quadrupole moment, from the rotation properties

General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics Mean-Field Dynamos

Large-scale, ordered magnetic fields in several astrophysical sources are supposed to be originated, and maintained against dissipation, by the combined amplifying action of rotation and small-scale turbulence. For instance, in the solar interior, the so-called α−Ω mean-field dynamo is known to be responsible for the observed 22-years magnetic cycle. Similar mechanisms could operate in more extreme environments, like proto neutron stars and accretion disks around black holes, for which the physical modelling needs to be translated from the regime of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and Newtonian gravity to that of a plasma in a general relativistic curved spacetime (GRMHD). Here we review the theory behind the mean field dynamo in GRMHD, the strategies for the implementation of the relevant equations in numerical conservative schemes, and we show the most important applications to the mentioned astrophysical compact objects obtained by our group in Florence. We also present novel results, such as three-dimensional GRMHD simulations of accretion disks with dynamo and the application of our dynamo model to a super massive neutron star, remnant of a binary neutron star merger as obtained from full numerical relativity simulations