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

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. October 2009. Major: Astrophysics. Advisors: Charles E. Woodward and Robert D. Gehrz. 1 computer file (PDF); xiii, 183 pages.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