Neutron Star Powered Nebulae: A New View on Pulsar Wind Nebulae with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

Joshua Lande

Published 2014-01-27Version 1

Pulsars are rapidly-rotating neutron stars born out of the death of stars. A diffuse nebula is formed when particles stream from these neutron stars and interact with the ambient medium. These pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are visible across the electromagnetic spectrum, producing some of the most brilliant objects ever observed. The launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in 2008 has offered us an unprecedented view of the cosmic gamma-ray sky. Using data from the LAT on board Fermi, we search for new gamma-ray-emitting PWN. With these new observations, we vastly expand the number of PWN observed at these energies. We interpret the observed gamma-ray emission from these PWN in terms of a model where accelerated electrons produce gamma-rays through inverse Compton upscattering when they interact with interstellar photon fields. We conclude by studying how the observed PWN evolve with the age and spin-down power of the host pulsar.