Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
In this paper, we present updated estimates of the velocity of the neutron star (NS) in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using over two decades of Chandra observations. We use two methods: (1) recording the NS positions from dozens of Chandra observations, including the astrometric uncertainty est...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad16e5 |
| _version_ | 1797320622529839104 |
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| author | Tyler Holland-Ashford Patrick Slane Xi Long |
| author_facet | Tyler Holland-Ashford Patrick Slane Xi Long |
| author_sort | Tyler Holland-Ashford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we present updated estimates of the velocity of the neutron star (NS) in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using over two decades of Chandra observations. We use two methods: (1) recording the NS positions from dozens of Chandra observations, including the astrometric uncertainty estimates on the data points, but not correcting the astrometry of the observations; and (2) correcting the astrometry of the 13 Chandra observations that have a sufficient number of point sources with identified Gaia counterparts. For method #1, we observe a heliocentric velocity of 275 ± 121 km s ^−1 , with an angle of 177° ± 22° east of north. For method #2, we observe a heliocentric velocity of 436 ± 89 km s ^−1 at an angle of 158° ± 12°. Correcting for galactic rotation and the Sun’s peculiar motion decreases these estimates to 256 km s ^−1 at 167° and 433 km s ^−1 at 151°, respectively. Both of our estimates match with the explosion-center-estimated velocity of ∼350 km s ^−1 and the previous 10 yr baseline proper-motion measurement of 570 ± 260 km s ^−1 , but our use of additional data over a longer baseline has led to a smaller uncertainty by a factor of 2–3. Our estimates rule out velocities ≳600 km s ^−1 and better match with simulations of Cassiopeia A that include NS kick mechanisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-47069bb2fceb4e25a411d4271dddc52e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-47069bb2fceb4e25a411d4271dddc52e2024-02-08T10:18:36ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-0196218210.3847/1538-4357/ad16e5Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia ATyler Holland-Ashford0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7643-0504Patrick Slane1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6986-6756Xi Long2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3350-1832Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138, USA ; tyler.holland-ashford@cfa.harvard.eduCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138, USA ; tyler.holland-ashford@cfa.harvard.eduCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138, USA ; tyler.holland-ashford@cfa.harvard.eduIn this paper, we present updated estimates of the velocity of the neutron star (NS) in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using over two decades of Chandra observations. We use two methods: (1) recording the NS positions from dozens of Chandra observations, including the astrometric uncertainty estimates on the data points, but not correcting the astrometry of the observations; and (2) correcting the astrometry of the 13 Chandra observations that have a sufficient number of point sources with identified Gaia counterparts. For method #1, we observe a heliocentric velocity of 275 ± 121 km s ^−1 , with an angle of 177° ± 22° east of north. For method #2, we observe a heliocentric velocity of 436 ± 89 km s ^−1 at an angle of 158° ± 12°. Correcting for galactic rotation and the Sun’s peculiar motion decreases these estimates to 256 km s ^−1 at 167° and 433 km s ^−1 at 151°, respectively. Both of our estimates match with the explosion-center-estimated velocity of ∼350 km s ^−1 and the previous 10 yr baseline proper-motion measurement of 570 ± 260 km s ^−1 , but our use of additional data over a longer baseline has led to a smaller uncertainty by a factor of 2–3. Our estimates rule out velocities ≳600 km s ^−1 and better match with simulations of Cassiopeia A that include NS kick mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad16e5Neutron starsCore-collapse supernovaeX-ray point sourcesSupernova remnantsStellar kinematics |
| spellingShingle | Tyler Holland-Ashford Patrick Slane Xi Long Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A The Astrophysical Journal Neutron stars Core-collapse supernovae X-ray point sources Supernova remnants Stellar kinematics |
| title | Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A |
| title_full | Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A |
| title_fullStr | Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A |
| title_full_unstemmed | Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A |
| title_short | Updated Proper Motion of the Neutron Star in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A |
| title_sort | updated proper motion of the neutron star in the supernova remnant cassiopeia a |
| topic | Neutron stars Core-collapse supernovae X-ray point sources Supernova remnants Stellar kinematics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad16e5 |
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