Tea

Composite supernova remnants (SNRs) are those consisting of both a central pulsar that produces a wind of synchrotron-emitting relativistic particle and a supernova (SN) blast wave that expands into the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). The evolution of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) is coupled to the evolution of its host SNR and characterized by distinct stages, from the PWN’s early expansion into the unshocked SN ejecta to its late-phase interaction with the SNR reverse shock. I will present an overview of the various evolutionary stages of composite SNRs and show how the signatures of the PWN/SNR interaction can reveal important information about the SNR and PWN dynamics, the SN progenitor and explosion asymmetry, the properties of the SN ejecta and newly-formed dust, particle injection and loss processes, and the eventual escape of energetic particles into the ISM. I will also discuss recent multi-wavelength observations and hydrodynamical modeling of evolved systems in which the PWN interacts with the SNR reverse shock and discuss their implications for our general understanding of the structure and evolution of composite SNRs.