MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site
In MeerKAT observations pointed at a Galactic X-ray binary located on the Galactic plane, we serendipitously discovered a radio nebula with cometary-like morphology. The feature, which we named 'the Mini Mouse' based on its similarity with the previously discovered 'Mouse' nebula...
| Päätekijät: | , , , , , , |
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| Aineistotyyppi: | Journal article |
| Kieli: | English |
| Julkaistu: |
Oxford University Press
2023
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| _version_ | 1826310404558553088 |
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| author | Motta, SE Turner, JD Stappers, B Fender, RP Heywood, I Kramer, M Barr, ED |
| author_facet | Motta, SE Turner, JD Stappers, B Fender, RP Heywood, I Kramer, M Barr, ED |
| author_sort | Motta, SE |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In MeerKAT observations pointed at a Galactic X-ray binary located on the Galactic plane, we serendipitously discovered a radio nebula with cometary-like morphology. The feature, which we named 'the Mini Mouse' based on its similarity with the previously discovered 'Mouse' nebula, points back towards the previously unidentified candidate supernova remnant G45.24+0.18. We observed the location of the Mini Mouse with MeerKAT in two different observations, and we localized with arcsecond precision the 138-ms radio pulsar PSR J1914+1054g, recently discovered by the FAST telescope, to a position consistent with the head of the nebula. We confirm a dispersion measure of about 418 pc cm-3 corresponding to a distance between 7.8 and 8.8 kpc based on models of the electron distribution. Using our accurate localization and two period measurements spaced 90 d apart, we calculate a period derivative of (2.7 ± 0.3) × 10 -14 s s-1. We derive a characteristic age of approximately 82 kyr and a spin-down luminosity of 4 × 1035 erg s-1. For a pulsar age comparable with the characteristic age, we find that the projected velocity of the neutron star is between 320 and 360 km s-1 if it was born at the location of the supernova remnant. The size of the proposed remnant appears small if compared with the pulsar characteristic age; however, the relatively high density of the environment near the Galactic plane could explain a suppressed expansion rate and thus a smaller remnant. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:51:48Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:71de5615-3707-4292-91c7-a16ebb086bbc |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:51:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:71de5615-3707-4292-91c7-a16ebb086bbc2023-07-24T15:41:52ZMeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth siteJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:71de5615-3707-4292-91c7-a16ebb086bbcEnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford University Press2023Motta, SETurner, JDStappers, BFender, RPHeywood, IKramer, MBarr, EDIn MeerKAT observations pointed at a Galactic X-ray binary located on the Galactic plane, we serendipitously discovered a radio nebula with cometary-like morphology. The feature, which we named 'the Mini Mouse' based on its similarity with the previously discovered 'Mouse' nebula, points back towards the previously unidentified candidate supernova remnant G45.24+0.18. We observed the location of the Mini Mouse with MeerKAT in two different observations, and we localized with arcsecond precision the 138-ms radio pulsar PSR J1914+1054g, recently discovered by the FAST telescope, to a position consistent with the head of the nebula. We confirm a dispersion measure of about 418 pc cm-3 corresponding to a distance between 7.8 and 8.8 kpc based on models of the electron distribution. Using our accurate localization and two period measurements spaced 90 d apart, we calculate a period derivative of (2.7 ± 0.3) × 10 -14 s s-1. We derive a characteristic age of approximately 82 kyr and a spin-down luminosity of 4 × 1035 erg s-1. For a pulsar age comparable with the characteristic age, we find that the projected velocity of the neutron star is between 320 and 360 km s-1 if it was born at the location of the supernova remnant. The size of the proposed remnant appears small if compared with the pulsar characteristic age; however, the relatively high density of the environment near the Galactic plane could explain a suppressed expansion rate and thus a smaller remnant. |
| spellingShingle | Motta, SE Turner, JD Stappers, B Fender, RP Heywood, I Kramer, M Barr, ED MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title | MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title_full | MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title_fullStr | MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title_full_unstemmed | MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title_short | MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
| title_sort | meerkat caught a mini mouse serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth site |
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