Multi-wavelength observations of pulsar wind nebulae and composite supernova remnants

Multi-wavelength studies of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) and supernova remnants (SNRs) lead to a better understanding of their evolutionary development, the interaction of supernovae (SNe) and pulsar winds with their surroundings, and nucleosynthesis and production and processing of dust grains by SNe. PWNe and composite supernova remnants, in particular, are unique laboratories for the study of the energetic pulsar winds, particle injection processes, and the impact of PWNe on the evolving SNR. They provide information on SNR shock properties, densities and temperatures, and the chemical composition and the ionization state of the material ejected by SNe. SNRs also serve as laboratories for the study of dust production and processing in SNe. While X-ray observations yield important information about the SN progenitor, hot gas properties, SN explosion energy, and the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM), the IR can provide crucial information about the faint non-thermal emission, continuum emission from dust, and forbidden line emission from SN ejecta. Combining observations at a wide range of wavelengths provides a more complete picture of the SNR development and helps better constrain current models describing a SNR's evolution and its impact on the surrounding medium. This thesis focuses on a multi-wavelength study of PWNe in various stages of their evolution and investigates their interaction with the expanding SN ejecta and dust and the SNR reverse shock. The study of these interactions can provide important information on the SNR properties that may otherwise be unobservable. The work in this thesis has been carried out under the supervision of Patrick Slane at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Charles E. Woodward and Rebert D. Gehrz at the University of Minnesota. The first part of the thesis summarizes the evolution and observational properties of SNRs and PWNe, with a focus on the evolution of young PWNe that are sweeping up inner SN ejecta. Two cases studies of such systems are discussed; infrared observations of the Crab Nebula; and X-ray and IR observations of G54.1+0.3. The second part of the thesis concentrates on the late stages of PWN evolution in which the PWN interacts with the SNR reverse shock. The final case study describes the X-ray observations of G327.1-1.1, a composite SNR in a late stage of its evolution. The thesis concludes with a summary of the results and proposed future work.