Abstract We report the discovery of diffuse radio emission within SNR G338.3−0.0 using new MeerKAT observations at 816 MHz and 1.4 GHz. The radio emission spatially overlaps with the X-ray pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by PSR J1640−4631 and the GeV/TeV γ -ray source HESS J1640−465. The morphology of this radio emission is centrally peaked and its extent is well contained within the SNR shell. A lack of mid- and far-infrared counterparts and the absence of cataloged H ii regions argue against a thermal origin, while the morphology and radial profile are suggestive of a PWN origin powered by PSR J1640−4631. Under this assumption, we use a one-zone, time-dependant model to reproduce the size and broadband (radio, X-ray, and γ -ray) spectral energy distribution of the PWN. The modeling and broadband properties of this PWN suggest it is currently interacting with the reverse shock within its host SNR. This evolutionary stage is associated with particles escaping the PWN and entering the interstellar medium, suggesting this object may be an important source of Galactic PeV e ± .
Abdelmaguid et al. (Wed,) studied this question.