VLBI astrometry of PSR J1549-4848: Test of its association with an infrared bow shock
Abstract
We serendipitously discovered a mid-infrared cometary nebula near PSR J1549-4848 (J1549) during our Spitzer survey of middle-aged pulsars. Due to its close proximity with the pulsar, the cometary nebula could be the first IR bow shock produced as a result of the interaction of the pulsar wind and the surrounding medium. Since the pulsar is around 15 arcsec away from the apex of the bow shock, it is yet to be conclusively established whether the pulsar is actually associated with the bow shock or not. We propose mas-scale multi-epoch astrometric VLBI observations of the pulsar using the Long Baseline Array to determine the accurate position and the proper motion of the pulsar to resolve this discrepancy. If the direction of the pulsar's motion is found out to be the same as the apex of the bow shock, it would be a convincing evidence of the J1549 - bow shock association.
- Publication:
-
ATNF Proposal
- Pub Date:
- October 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013atnf.prop.5833M
- Keywords:
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- pulsars;
- neutron stars;
- LBA