On the interaction of pulsar winds and clumpy stellar winds

Abstract

High-mass binaries hosting a non-accreting pulsar are sources of gamma rays, which are thought to originate in the wind-wind collision region. The stellar wind is expected to be clumpy, which could have important effects on the emitting flow dynamics, and thus on the associated nonthermal radiation. We adopt here a combination of Monte-Carlo and semi-analytical hydrodynamic calculations to explore the impact of clumps on the shocked wind structure on the scales of the binary system.