2015/10/02 by J. P. Halpern, E. V. Gotthelf · 2 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Classical mechanics #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Mathematics #Motion (physics) #Physics #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/812/1/61
7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
arxiv created 2015/10/02 · openalex publication_date 2015/10/09 · arxiv updated 2015/10/14 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Using pairs of images from the Chandra High Resolution Camera we examine the proper motion of the central compact object (CCO) 1E 1207.4−5209 in the supernova remnant (SNR) PKS 1209−51/52, and the unusual pulsar Calvera that is possibly a CCO descendant. For 1E 1207.4−5209, an insignificant proper motion of mas yr −1 is measured, corresponding to a corrected tangential velocity of km s −1 at the distance of 2 kpc. This proves that the previously noted large offset of the pulsar from the apparent geometric center of the SNR is not due to high proper motion; evidently the symmetry of the remnant does not indicate its center of expansion. Calvera has a marginally significant proper motion of mas yr −1 , corresponding to km s −1 for a hypothetical distance of 0.3 kpc. Notably, its vector is away from the Galactic plane, although its high Galactic latitude of may be more a consequence of its proximity than its velocity. We also provide updated timing solutions for each pulsar. Spanning 14.5 years, the ephemeris of 1E 1207.4−5209 has a small and steady frequency derivative that, because of the negligible proper motion, requires no kinematic correction. The derived surface dipole magnetic field strength of 1E 1207.4−5209 thus remains G. Calvera has G, intermediate between those of ordinary young pulsars and CCOs, suggesting that it may be on a trajectory of field growth that could account for the absence of descendants in the neighborhood of CCOs in the diagram.