Pulsar nebulae in supernovae

Abstract

Pulsars are expected to be born inside Type II supernovae, and the nebulae generated by their spin-down power thus initially interact with the expanding supernova gas. The hydrodynamic interaction can be described analytically while the pulsar is in a constant power output phase if the surrounding density profile is a power law in radius. The power generated by the shock front driven into the supernova gas is about 1.5% of the pulsar power, and, for typical parameters, the shock wave remains in a radiative phase for at least hundreds of years