OUT OF THE FRYING PAN: A YOUNG PULSAR WITH A LONG RADIO TRAIL EMERGING FROM SNR G315.9-0.0
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)
- CSIRO Parkes Observatory, Parkes, NSW 2870 (Australia)
The faint radio supernova remnant SNR G315.9-0.0 is notable for a long and thin trail that extends outward perpendicular from the edge of its approximately circular shell. In a search with the Parkes telescope, we have found a young and energetic pulsar that is located at the tip of this collimated linear structure. PSR J1437-5959 has period P = 61 ms, characteristic age tau{sub c}=P/(2P-dot)=114 kyr, and spin-down luminosity E-dot=1.4 x 10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1}. It is very faint, with a flux density at 1.4 GHz of about 75 muJy. From its dispersion measure of 549 pc cm{sup -3}, we infer d {approx} 8 kpc. At this distance and for an age comparable to tau {sub c}, the implied pulsar velocity in the plane of the sky is V{sub t} = 300 km s{sup -1} for a birth at the center of the SNR, although it is possible that the SNR/pulsar system is younger than tau {sub c} and that V{sub t} > 300 km s{sup -1}. The highly collimated linear feature is evidently the pulsar wind trail left from the supersonic passage of PSR J1437-5959 through the interstellar medium surrounding SNR G315.9-0.0.
- OSTI ID:
- 21371963
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal (Online), Vol. 703, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/703/1/L55; ISSN 1538-4357
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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