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The crab-like supernova remnants

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Abstract

About twenty galactic supernova remnants contain, or are suspected to contain, internal neutron stars. These are observed as pulsing sources or through radiation from surrounding synchrotron nebulae. The Crab Nebula is the most famous example. Similar, but less luminous, nebulae have been identified through radio and X-ray morphology and spectra. This review emphasizes the X-ray observations and is based on images obtained with the Einstein Observatory. These images are illustrated for most remnants and some have not been published previously.

There is a great variety of observed characteristics. A typical SNR in this class appears as a patchy shell of hot gas with a contribution from an energetic pulsar at the center. Both the luminosity of the shell and the luminosity powered by the pulsar can vary over a wide range. Remnants reviewed range from the Crab, in which the pulsar-powered component is overwhelming, to RCW 103, in which a central object is marginally observed through a bright shell.

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  1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Frederick D. Seward

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Seward, F.D. The crab-like supernova remnants. Space Sci Rev 49, 385–423 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00241871

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