Relativistic MHD Simulations and Synthetic Synchrotron Emission Maps:. a Diagnostic Tool for Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Numerical simulations in the relativistic regime have certainly become a powerful investigation tool for High Energy Astrophysics. Here we show a simple method to provide any numerical code with a complete set of diagnostic tools aimed at producing synthetic synchrotron emissivity, polarization, and spectral index maps for comparison with observations. The method is based on the addition to the numerical code of an evolution equation for the maximum energy of the emitting particles, and this takes into account both adiabatic and radiative losses along fluid streamlines. As an application, we consider here the case of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), for which the method is applied on top of an axisymmetric MHD model. Results are presented and discussed.