Testing a stochastic acceleration model of pulsar wind nebulae: early evolution of a wind nebula associated with SN 1986J

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over 3000 pulsars have been discovered, but none have been confirmed to be younger than a few hundred years. Observing a pulsar after a supernova explosion will help us understand the properties of newborn ones, including their capability to produce gamma-ray bursts and fast radio bursts. Here, the possible youngest pulsar wind nebula (PWN) at the centre of the SN 1986J remnant is studied. We demonstrate that the 5 GHz flux of ‘PWN 1986J’, increasing with time, is consistent with a stochastic acceleration model of PWNe developed to explain the flat radio spectrum of the Crab Nebula. We obtain an acceleration time-scale of electrons/positrons and a decay time-scale of the turbulence responsible for the stochastic acceleration as about 10 yr and 70 yr, respectively. Our findings suggest that efficient stochastic acceleration and rising radio/submm light curves are characteristic signatures of the youngest PWNe. Follow-up ALMA observations of decades-old supernovae within a few tens of Mpc, including SN 1986J, are encouraged to reveal the origin of the flat radio spectrum of PWNe.