Previous | Session 183 | Next | Author Index | Block Schedule
J. P. Bernstein, P. A. Hughes (U. Michigan)
We have undertaken the simulation of the interaction of a light, relativistic pulsar wind with a dense, ambient medium. Such a scenario has been suggested as the origin of asymmetric pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). We discuss the application of an existing adaptive-mesh, axisymmetric, relativistic hydrodynamic code to the simulation of such a flow, and in particular, the development of a cooling module. We define a species of tracer particles that are distinct from, but tied to, the hydrodynamic flow. We evolve their mass and energy density via the Euler equations using the velocity of the flow and physical source terms representing synchrotron cooling and shock heating. We initially expect to harness the tracer particles to compute an X-ray emissivity. Ultimately, we will use their mass and energy density to generate a sink for the energy density of the hydrodynamic flow in order to study the effects of energy loss on PWNe morphology. This work is supported by a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program grant.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~jpbernst/. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jpbernst@umich.edu
Previous | Session 183 | Next
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.