On the environments and progenitors of supernova remnants associated
  with highly magnetized neutron stars
  The distinction between the high-magnetic field pulsars (HBPs, thought to be
mainly rotation-powered) and magnetars (commonly believed to be powered by
their super-strong magnetic fields) has been recently blurred with the
discovery of magnetar-like activity from the HBP J1846-0258 in the Supernova
Remnant (SNR) Kes 75. What determines the spin properties of a neutron star at
birth and its manifestation as a magnetar-like or more classical pulsar is
still not clear. Furthermore, although a few studies have suggested very
massive progenitors for magnetars, there is currently no consensus on the
progenitors of these objects. To address these questions, we examine their
environments by studying or revisiting their securely associated SNRs. Our
approach is by: 1) inferring the mass of their progenitor stars through X-ray
spectroscopic studies of the thermally emitting supernova ejecta, and 2)
investigating the physical properties of their hosting SNRs and ambient
conditions. We here highlight our detailed studies of two SNRs: G292.2-0.5
associated with the HBP J1119-6127 and Kes 73 associated with the AXP 1E
1841-045, and summarize the current view of the other (handful)
HBP/magnetar-SNR associations.
