Proper-Motion Measurements of Pulsar B1951+32 in the Supernova Remnant CTB 80

Joshua Marc Migliazzo, B. M. Gaensler, D. C. Backer, B. W. Stappers, E. van der Swaluw, R. G. Strom

Abstract

Using the Very Large Array and the Pie Town antenna, we have measured the position of the radio pulsar B1951+32 relative to nearby background radio sources at four epochs between 1989 and 2000. These data show a clear motion for the pulsar of 25 ± 4 mas yr-1 at a position angle 252° ± 7° (north through east), corresponding to a transverse velocity 240 ± 40 km s-1 for a distance to the source of 2 kpc. The measured direction of motion confirms that the pulsar is moving away from the center of its associated supernova remnant, the first time that such a result has been demonstrated. Independent of assumptions made about the pulsar birthplace, we show that the measured proper motion implies an age for the pulsar of 64 ± 18 kyr, somewhat less than its characteristic age of 107 kyr. This discrepancy can be explained if the initial spin period of the pulsar was P0 = 27 ± 6 ms.

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