Wind Bubble Research Articles

Leptonic Nonthermal Emission from Supernova Remnants Evolving in the Circumstellar Magnetic Field

Abstract The very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission observed from a number of supernova remnants (SNRs) indicates particle acceleration to high energies at the shock of the remnants and a potentially significant contribution to Galactic cosmic rays. It is extremely difficult to determine whether protons (through hadronic interactions and subsequent pion decay) or electrons (through inverse Compton scattering on ambient photon fields) are responsible for this emission. For a successful diagnostic, a good understanding of the spatial and energy distribution of the underlying particle population is crucial. Most SNRs are created in core-collapse explosions and expand into the wind bubble of their progenitor stars. This circumstellar medium features a complex spatial distribution of gas and magnetic field which naturally strongly affects the resulting particle population. In this work, we conduct a detailed study of the spectro-spatial evolution of the electrons accelerated at the forward shock of core-collapse SNRs and their nonthermal radiation, using the RATPaC code that is designed for the time- and spatially dependent treatment of particle acceleration at SNR shocks. We focus on the impact of the spatially inhomogeneous magnetic field through the efficiency of diffusion and synchrotron cooling. It is demonstrated that the structure of the circumstellar magnetic field can leave strong signatures in the spectrum and morphology of the resulting nonthermal emission.

Bottling the champagne: dynamics and radiation trapping of wind-driven bubbles around massive stars

ABSTRACT In this paper, we make predictions for the behaviour of wind bubbles around young massive stars using analytic theory. We do this in order to determine why there is a discrepancy between theoretical models that predict that winds should play a secondary role to photoionization in the dynamics of H iiregions, and observations of young H iiregions that seem to suggest a driving role for winds. In particular, regions such as M42 in Orion have neutral hydrogen shells, suggesting that the ionizing radiation is trapped closer to the star. We first derive formulae for wind bubble evolution in non-uniform density fields, focusing on singular isothermal sphere density fields with a power-law index of -2. We find that a classical ‘Weaver’-like expansion velocity becomes constant in such a density distribution. We then calculate the structure of the photoionized shell around such wind bubbles, and determine at what point the mass in the shell cannot absorb all of the ionizing photons emitted by the star, causing an ‘overflow’ of ionizing radiation. We also estimate perturbations from cooling, gravity, magnetic fields and instabilities, all of which we argue are secondary effects for the conditions studied here. Our wind-driven model provides a consistent explanation for the behaviour of M42 to within the errors given by observational studies. We find that in relatively denser molecular cloud environments around single young stellar sources, champagne flows are unlikely until the wind shell breaks up due to turbulence or clumping in the cloud.

Star Formation Regulation and Self-pollution by Stellar Wind Feedback

Abstract Stellar winds contain enough energy to easily disrupt the parent cloud surrounding a nascent star cluster, and for this reason they have long been considered candidates for regulating star formation. However, direct observations suggest most wind power is lost, and Lancaster et al. recently proposed that this is due to efficient mixing and cooling processes. Here we simulate star formation with wind feedback in turbulent, self-gravitating clouds, extending our previous work. Our simulations cover clouds with an initial surface density of 102–104 M ⊙ pc−2 and show that star formation and residual gas dispersal are complete within two to eight initial cloud freefall times. The “efficiently cooled” model for stellar wind bubble evolution predicts that enough energy is lost for the bubbles to become momentum-driven; we find that this is satisfied in our simulations. We also find that wind energy losses from turbulent, radiative mixing layers dominate losses by “cloud leakage” over the timescales relevant for star formation. We show that the net star formation efficiency (SFE) in our simulations can be explained by theories that apply wind momentum to disperse cloud gas, allowing for highly inhomogeneous internal cloud structure. For very dense clouds, the SFE is similar to those observed in extreme star-forming environments. Finally, we find that, while self-pollution by wind material is insignificant in cloud conditions with moderate density (only ≲10−4 of the stellar mass originated in winds), our simulations with conditions more typical of a super star cluster have star particles that form with as much as 1% of their mass in wind material.

The time-dependent Rayleigh–Taylor instability in interstellar shells and supershells, including the eROSITA bubbles

ABSTRACT The Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability is omnipresent in the physics of inversely density-stratified fluids subject to effective gravitational acceleration. In astrophysics, a steep stratification of the ambient medium can fragment a bubble shell faster due to a strongly time-dependent RT instability, causing the classical constant gravity models to fail. We derive the time-dependent instability criteria analytically for the cases of constant, exponential, and power-law accelerations, verifying them through high-resolution numerical simulations. Our results show that (1) even in the linear phase there is a term opposing exponential growth, (2) non-linear growth approaches asymptotically the solution found by Fermi and von Neumann, (3) the interpenetrating spikes and bubbles promote a significant mixing, with the fractal dimension of the interface approaching 1.6, only limited by numerical diffusion, and (4) the probability density function for the passive scalar to study mixing becomes increasingly sharper peaked for power-law and exponential accelerations. Applying our solutions to stellar wind bubbles, young supernova remnants (SNRs), and superbubbles (SBs), we find that the growth rate of the RT instability is generally higher in the shells of wind-blown bubbles in a power-law stratified medium than in those with power-law rising stellar mechanical luminosities, Tycho-like than Cas A-like SNRs, and one-sided than symmetric SBs. The recently observed eROSITA bubbles indicate smooth rim surfaces, implying that the outer shell has not been affected by RT instabilities. Therefore, the dynamical evolution of the bubbles suggests maximum final ages that are significantly above their current age, which we estimate to be about 20 Myr.

How to inflate a wind-blown bubble

ABSTRACT Stellar winds are one of several ways that massive stars can affect the star formation process on local and galactic scales. In this paper, we investigate the numerical resolution needed to inflate an energy-driven stellar wind bubble in an external medium. We find that the radius of the wind injection region, rinj, must be below a maximum value, rinj,max, in order for a bubble to be produced, but must be significantly below this value if the bubble properties are to closely agree with analytical predictions. The final bubble momentum is within 25 per cent of the value from a higher resolution reference model if χ = rinj/rinj,max = 0.1. Our work has significance for the amount of radial momentum that a wind-blown bubble can impart to the ambient medium in simulations, and thus on the relative importance of stellar wind feedback.

Interaction between massive star winds and the interstellar medium

AbstractMassive stars drive strong winds that impact the surrounding interstellar medium, producing parsec-scale bubbles for isolated stars and superbubbles around young clusters. These bubbles can be observed across the electromagnetic spectrum, both the wind itself and the swept up interstellar gas. Runaway massive stars produce bow shocks that strongly compresses interstellar gas, producing bright infrared, optical and radio nebulae. With the detection of non-thermal radio emission from bow shocks, particle acceleration can now also be investigated. I review research on wind bubbles and bow shocks around massive stars, highlighting recent advances in infrared, radio and X-ray observations, and progress in multidimensional simulations of these nebulae. These advances enable quantitative comparisons between theory and observations and allow to test the importance of some physical processes such as thermal conduction and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in shaping nebulae and in constraining the energetics of stellar-wind feedback to the interstellar medium.

Kinematics of Mg ii absorbers from the redshift-space distortion around massive quiescent galaxies

ABSTRACT The kinematics of Mg ii absorbers is the key to understanding the origin of cool, metal-enriched gas clouds in the circumgalactic medium of massive quiescent galaxies. Exploiting the fact that the cloud line-of-sight velocity distribution is the only unknown for predicting the redshift-space distortion (RSD) of Mg ii absorbers from their 3D real-space distribution around galaxies, we develop a novel method to infer the cool cloud kinematics from the redshift-space galaxy–cloud cross-correlation ξs. We measure ξs for ∼104 Mg ii absorbers around ∼8 × 105 CMASS galaxies at 0.4 < z < 0.8. We discover that ξs does not exhibit a strong Fingers-of-God effect, but is heavily truncated at velocity ${\sim }300\, \mathrm{km}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$. We reconstruct both the redshift and real-space cloud number density distributions inside haloes, $\xi ^{s}_{1h}$ and ξ1h, respectively. Thus, for any model of cloud kinematics, we can predict $\xi ^{s}_{1h}$ from the reconstructed ξ1h, and self-consistently compare to the observed $\xi ^{s}_{1h}$. We consider four types of cloud kinematics, including an isothermal model with a single velocity dispersion, a satellite infall model in which cool clouds reside in the subhaloes, a cloud accretion model in which clouds follow the cosmic gas accretion, and a tired wind model in which clouds originate from the galactic wind-driven bubbles. All the four models provide statistically good fits to the RSD data, but only the tired wind model can reproduce the observed truncation by propagating ancient wind bubbles at ${\sim }250\, \mathrm{km}\, s^{-1}$ on scales ${\sim }400\, \, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{kpc}$. Our method provides an exciting path to decoding the dynamical origin of metal absorbers from the RSD measurements with upcoming spectroscopic surveys.

Efficiently Cooled Stellar Wind Bubbles in Turbulent Clouds. II. Validation of Theory with Hydrodynamic Simulations

Abstract In a companion paper, we develop a theory for the evolution of stellar wind-driven bubbles in dense, turbulent clouds. This theory proposes that turbulent mixing at a fractal bubble/shell interface leads to highly efficient cooling, in which the vast majority of the input wind energy is radiated away. This energy loss renders the majority of the bubble evolution momentum driven rather than energy driven, with expansion velocities and pressures orders of magnitude lower than in the classical Weaver et al. solution. In this paper, we validate our theory with three-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulations. We show that extreme cooling is not only possible, but is generic to star formation in turbulent clouds over more than three orders of magnitude in density. We quantify the few free parameters in our theory, and show that the momentum exceeds the wind input rate by only a factor . We verify that the bubble/cloud interface is a fractal with dimension . The measured turbulent amplitude ( ) in the hot gas near the interface is shown to be consistent with theoretical requirements for turbulent diffusion to efficiently mix and radiate away most of the wind energy. The fraction of energy remaining after cooling is only , decreasing with time, explaining observations that indicate low hot-gas content and weak dynamical effects of stellar winds.

Efficiently Cooled Stellar Wind Bubbles in Turbulent Clouds. I. Fractal Theory and Application to Star-forming Clouds

Abstract Winds from massive stars have velocities of 1000 km s−1 or more and produce hot, high-pressure gas when they shock. We develop a theory for the evolution of bubbles driven by the collective winds from star clusters early in their lifetimes, which involves interaction with the turbulent, dense interstellar medium of the surrounding natal molecular cloud. A key feature is the fractal nature of the hot bubble’s surface. The large area of this interface with surrounding denser gas strongly enhances energy losses from the hot interior, enabled by turbulent mixing and subsequent cooling at temperatures T ∼ 104–105 K, where radiation is maximally efficient. Due to the extreme cooling, the bubble radius scales differently ( ) from the classical Weaver et al. solution and has expansion velocity and momentum lower by factors of 10–102 at given , with pressure lower by factors of 102–103. Our theory explains the weak X-ray emission and low shell expansion velocities of observed sources. We discuss further implications of our theory for observations of the hot bubbles and cooled expanding shells created by stellar winds and for predictions of feedback-regulated star formation in a range of environments. In a companion paper, we validate our theory with a suite of hydrodynamic simulations.

Tree-based solvers for adaptive mesh refinement code flash – II: radiation transport module TreeRay

ABSTRACT The treatment of radiative transfer with multiple radiation sources is a critical challenge in simulations of star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM). In this paper, we present the novel TreeRay method for solving general radiative transfer problems, based on reverse ray-tracing combined with tree-based accelerated integration. We implement TreeRay in the adaptive mesh refinement code flash, as a module of the tree solver developed by Wünsch et al. However, the method itself is independent of the host code and can be implemented in any grid-based or particle-based hydrodynamics code. A key advantage of TreeRay is that its computational cost is independent of the number of sources, making it suitable for simulations with many point sources (e.g. massive star clusters) as well as simulations where diffuse emission is important. A very efficient communication and tree-walk strategy enable TreeRay to achieve almost ideal parallel scalings. TreeRay can easily be extended with sub-modules to treat radiative transfer at different wavelengths and to implement related physical processes. Here, we focus on ionizing radiation and use the on-the-spot approximation to test the method and its parameters. The ability to set the tree solver time-step independently enables the speedy calculation of radiative transfer in a multiphase ISM, where the hydrodynamic time-step is typically limited by the sound speed of the hot gas produced in stellar wind bubbles or supernova remnants. We show that complicated simulations of star clusters with feedback from multiple massive stars become feasible with TreeRay.

An experimental investigation into the possible connections between the zonal neutral wind speeds and equatorial plasma bubble drift velocities over the African equatorial region

There is increasing interest to understand thermospheric neutral wind and ionized plasma coupling, especially by using empirical observations. This is the first study that reports simultaneous measurements of thermospheric neutral wind and equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) speeds over the African equatorial region. Neutral wind speeds were obtained using a Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), while EPB speeds were obtained using an all-sky optical imager. Both instruments are co-located in Abuja (Geographic: 8.99°N, 7.38°E; Geomagnetic: 1.60°S). Data for 11 nights of coincident neutral wind and EPB speed observations were used. The neutral wind speeds were in the range of about −30 to 300 m/s, while EPB speeds were in the range of about 15–400 m/s. The speeds of both neutral winds and EPBs were generally observed to be faster during the early night hours and to slow down towards midnight. In some instances, the neutral wind and EPB speeds were comparable, an observation that is in agreement with full development of the F region dynamo. There were also instances in which the EPBs were faster or slower than the neutral winds. In one of the nights, a southward turning of the IMF-Bz was observed to cause a sudden increase in the EPB speed. For some nights, the neutral winds were faster than the EPBs during earlier hours of the nights, and the disparity reduced during the later hours of the nights. This was attributed to the possibility that the F region dynamo was yet to be fully developed during the earlier hours.

Post-merger Jets from Supermassive Black Hole Coalescences as Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational Wave Emission

Abstract As a powerful source of gravitational waves (GW), a supermassive black hole (SMBH) merger may be accompanied by a relativistic jet that leads to detectable electromagnetic (EM) emission. We model the propagation of post-merger jets inside a pre-merger wind bubble formed by disk winds, and calculate multiwavelength EM spectra from the forward shock region. We show that the nonthermal EM signals from SMBH mergers are detectable up to the detection horizon of future GW facilities such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Calculations based on our model predict slowly fading transients with time delays from days to months after the coalescence, leading to implications for EM follow-up observations after the GW detection.

Unravelling the physics of multiphase AGN winds through emission line tracers

ABSTRACT Observations of emission lines in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) often find fast (∼1000 km s−1) outflows extending to kiloparsec scales, seen in ionized, neutral atomic and molecular gas. In this work we present radiative transfer calculations of emission lines in hydrodynamic simulations of AGN outflows driven by a hot wind bubble, including non-equilibrium chemistry, to explore how these lines trace the physical properties of the multiphase outflow. We find that the hot bubble compresses the line-emitting gas, resulting in higher pressures than in the ambient interstellar medium or that would be produced by the AGN radiation pressure. This implies that observed emission line ratios such as [O iv]$_{25 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ / [Ne ii]$_{12 \, \rm {\mu m}}$, [Ne v]$_{14 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ / [Ne ii]$_{12 \, \rm {\mu m}}$, and [N iii]$_{57 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ / [N ii]$_{122 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ constrain the presence of the bubble and hence the outflow driving mechanism. However, the line-emitting gas is under-pressurized compared to the hot bubble itself, and much of the line emission arises from gas that is out of pressure, thermal and/or chemical equilibrium. Our results thus suggest that assuming equilibrium conditions, as commonly done in AGN line emission models, is not justified if a hot wind bubble is present. We also find that ≳50 per cent of the mass outflow rate, momentum flux, and kinetic energy flux of the outflow are traced by lines such as [N ii]$_{122 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ and [Ne iii]$_{15 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ (produced in the 10$^{4} \, \rm {K}$ phase) and [C ii]$_{158 \, \rm {\mu m}}$ (produced in the transition from 10$^{4} \, \rm {K}$ to 100 K).

Non-thermal radio supernova remnants of exiled Wolf–Rayet stars

ABSTRACT A signification fraction of Galactic massive stars (${\ge}8\, \rm M_{\odot }$) are ejected from their parent cluster and supersonically sail away through the interstellar medium (ISM). The winds of these fast-moving stars blow asymmetric bubbles thus creating a circumstellar environment in which stars eventually die with a supernova explosion. The morphology of the resulting remnant is largely governed by the circumstellar medium of the defunct progenitor star. In this paper, we present 2D magneto-hydrodynamical simulations investigating the effect of the ISM magnetic field on the shape of the supernova remnants of a $35\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ star evolving through a Wolf–Rayet phase and running with velocity 20 and $40\, \rm km\, \rm s^{-1}$, respectively. A $7\, \mu \rm G$ ambient magnetic field is sufficient to modify the properties of the expanding supernova shock front and in particular to prevent the formation of filamentary structures. Prior to the supernova explosion, the compressed magnetic field in the circumstellar medium stabilizes the wind/ISM contact discontinuity in the tail of the wind bubble. A consequence is a reduced mixing efficiency of ejecta and wind materials in the inner region of the remnant, where the supernova shock wave propagates. Radiative transfer calculations for synchrotron emission reveal that the non-thermal radio emission has characteristic features reflecting the asymmetry of exiled core-collapse supernova remnants from Wolf–Rayet progenitors. Our models are qualitatively consistent with the radio appearance of several remnants of high-mass progenitors, namely the bilateral G296.5+10.0 and the shell-type remnants CTB109 and Kes 17, respectively.

PSR J1709-4429's Proper Motion and Its Relationship to SNR G343.1–2.3

Abstract We have obtained a deep (670 ks) CXO ACIS image of the remarkable pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of PSR J1709−4429, in four epochs during 2018–2019. Comparison with an archival 2004 data set provides a pulsar proper motion μ = 13 ± 3 mas yr−1 at a PA of 86° ± 9° (1σ combined statistical and systematic uncertainties), precluding birth near the center of SNR G343.1−2.3. At the pulsar’s characteristic age of 17 kyr, the association can be preserved through a combination of progenitor wind, birth kick, and PWN outflow. Associated TeV emission may, however, indicate an explosion in an earlier supernova. Inter-epoch comparison of the X-ray images shows that the PWN is dynamic, but we are unable to conclusively measure flow speeds from blob motion. The pulsar has generated a radio/X-ray wind bubble, and we argue that the PWN’s long narrow jets are swept back by shocked pulsar wind venting from this cavity. These jets may trace the polar magnetic field lines of the PWN flow, an interesting challenge for numerical modeling.

The geometry and dynamical role of stellar wind bubbles in photoionized H ii regions

ABSTRACT Winds from young massive stars contribute a large amount of energy to their host molecular clouds. This has consequences for the dynamics and observable structure of star-forming clouds. In this paper, we present radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of turbulent molecular clouds that form individual stars of 30, 60, and 120 solar masses emitting winds and ultraviolet radiation following realistic stellar evolution tracks. We find that winds contribute to the total radial momentum carried by the expanding nebula around the star at 10 per cent of the level of photoionization feedback, and have only a small effect on the radial expansion of the nebula. Radiation pressure is largely negligible in the systems studied here. The 3D geometry and evolution of wind bubbles is highly aspherical and chaotic, characterized by fast-moving ‘chimneys’ and thermally driven ‘plumes’. These plumes can sometimes become disconnected from the stellar source due to dense gas flows in the cloud. Our results compare favourably with the findings of relevant simulations, analytic models and observations in the literature while demonstrating the need for full 3D simulations including stellar winds. However, more targeted simulations are needed to better understand results from observational studies.

Magnetised gas nebulae of evolved massive stars

AbstractMassive stars are amongst the rarest but also most intriguing stars. Their extreme, magnetised stellar winds induce, by wind-ISM interaction, famous multi-wavelengths circumstellar gas nebulae of various morphologies, spanning from large-scale wind bubbles to stellar wind bow shocks, rings and bipolar shapes. We present two- and three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the circumstellar medium of such massive stars at different phase of their evolution. Particularly, we investigate the stability properties of 3D MHD bow shock nebulae around the runaway red supergiant stars IRC-10414 and Betelgeuse. Our results show that their astrospheres are stabilised by an organised, non-parallel ambient magnetic field. These findings suggest that Betelgeuse’s bar is of interstellar origin. Last, we explore the circular aspect of the young nebula around the Wolf-Rayet stars. It is found that Wolf-Rayet nebulae are not affected by the ISM gas distribution in which the stellar objects lie, even in the case of fast stellar motion: as testifies the ring-like surroundings of the Milky Way’s fastest Wolf-Rayet star, WR124. The morphology of these nebulae is tightly related to their pre-Wolf-Rayet wind geometry and to their phase evolution transition properties, which can generate bipolar shapes. We will further discuss their diffuse projected emission by means of radiative transfer calculations and show that the projected diffuse emission can appear as bipolar structures as in NGC6888.

Simulations of Magnetised Stellar-Wind Bubbles

Initial results are presented from 3D MHD modelling of stellar-wind bubbles around O stars moving supersonically through the ISM. We describe algorithm updates that enable high-resolution 3D MHD simulations at reasonable computational cost. We apply the methods to the simulation of the astrosphere of a rotating massive star moving with 30km s−1 through the diffuse interstellar medium, for two different stellar magnetic field strengths, 10G and 100G. Features in the flow are described and compared with similar models for the Heliosphere. The shocked interstellar medium becomes asymmetric with the inclusion of a magnetic field misaligned with the star’s direction of motion, with observable consequences. When the Alfv´enic Mach number of the wind is ≤ 10 then the stellar magnetic field begins to affect the structure of the wind bubble and features related to the magnetic axis of the star become visible at parsec scales. Prospects for predicting and measuring non-thermal radiation are discussed.

A radio continuum and polarization study of the pulsar wind nebula CTB 87 (G74.9+1.2)

ABSTRACT We present radio continuum and linear polarization observations of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) CTB 87 (G74.9+1.2) with the Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope between 4.75 and 32 GHz. An analysis of these new data including archived low-frequency observations at 1420 and 408 MHz from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey shows that CTB 87 consists of two distinct emission components: a compact kidney-shaped component, 14 × 8.5 pc2 (7.8 × 4.8 arcmin2) in size and a larger diffuse, spherical, and centrally peaked component of about 30 pc (17 arcmin) in diameter. The kidney-shaped component with a much steeper radio continuum spectrum is highly linearly polarized and likely represents a relic PWN. The diffuse component represents the undisturbed part of the PWN expanding inside a cavity or stellar wind bubble. The previously reported spectral break above 10 GHz is likely the result of missing large-scale emission and insufficient sensitivity of the high-frequency radio continuum observations. The simulation of the system’s evolution yields an age of about 18 000 yr as the result of a Type II supernova explosion with ejecta mass of about 12 M⊙ and explosion energy of about 7 × 1050 erg. We also found evidence for a radio shell in our polarization data that represents the blast wave that entered the molecular cloud complex at a radius of about 13 pc.

Blast Waves from Magnetar Flares and Fast Radio Bursts

Abstract Magnetars younger than one century are expected to be hyperactive: besides winds powered by rotation, they can generate frequent magnetic flares, which launch powerful blast waves into the wind. The resulting magnetized shocks act as masers producing bright radio emission. This theoretical picture predicts radio bursts with the following properties. (1) GHz radio emission occurs at radii and lasts ms in the observer's time. (2) Induced scattering in the surrounding wind does not suppress the radio burst. (3) The emission has linear polarization set by the magnetar rotation axis. (4) The emission drifts to lower frequencies during the burst, and its duration broadens at lower frequencies. (5) Blast waves in inhomogeneous winds may emit variable radio bursts; periodicity might appear on submillisecond timescales if the magnetar rotates with a ∼1 s period. However, the observed burst structure is likely changed by lensing effects during propagation through the host galaxy. (6) The magnetar bursts should repeat, with rare ultrastrong events (possibly up to ∼1043 erg in radio waves) or more frequent weak bursts. (7) When a repeating magnetic flare strikes the wind bubble in the tail of a previous flare, the radio burst turns into a bright optical burst lasting . Locations of hyperactive magnetars in their host galaxies depend on how they form: magnetars created in supernova explosions will trace star formation regions, and magnetars formed in mergers of compact objects will be offset. The merger magnetars are expected to be particularly hyperactive.