Title: An Extreme Pulsar Tail Protruding from the Frying Pan Supernova Remnant Authors: C.-Y. Ng, N. Bucciantini, B. M. Gaensler, F. Camilo, S. Chatterjee, A. Bouchard
The Frying Pan (G315.9-0.0) is a radio supernova remnant with a peculiar linear feature extending 10' radially outward from the rim of the shell. We present radio imaging and polarization observations with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array, confirming the linear structure as a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula powered by the young pulsar J1437-5959. Extending over 20pc, this is the longest pulsar tail observed. We found a stand-off distance of 0.002pc, smallest among any bow-shock systems, suggesting a large pulsar velocity over 1000km/s and a high Mach number ~200. The magnetic field geometry inferred from radio polarimetry shows a good alignment with the tail orientation, which could be a result of high flow speed. There are also hints that the postshock wind has a low magnetisation and is dominated by electrons and positrons in energy. This study shows that pulsar wind nebulae can offer a powerful probe of the pulsar environment, particularly for the case of a bow-shock where the parent supernova shell is also detected.
An ultrafast moving pulsar has shot out from its supernova shell and left the longest ever 'smoke' trail to be seen by astronomers. Dr Stephen Ng of the University of Sydney and colleagues report their findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. In 1987, astronomers using the University of Sydney's Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, discovered an odd "frying pan" shaped structure some 24,000 light years away.
Title: Out of the frying pan: a young pulsar with a long radio trail emerging from SNR G315.9-0.0 Authors: F. Camilo (1), C.-Y. Ng (2), B. M. Gaensler (2), S. M. Ransom (3), S. Chatterjee (4), J. Reynolds (5), J. Sarkissian (5) ((1) Columbia U., (2) U. of Sydney, (3) NRAO, (4) Cornell U., (5) ATNF)
The faint radio supernova remnant SNR G315.9-0.0 is notable for a long and thin trail that extends outward perpendicular from the edge of its approximately circular shell. In a search with the Parkes telescope we have found a young and energetic pulsar that is located at the tip of this collimated linear structure. PSR J1437-5959 has period P = 61 ms, characteristic age tau_c = 114 kyr, and spin-down luminosity dE/dt = 1.4e36 erg/s. It is very faint, with a flux density at 1.4 GHz of about 75 uJy. From its dispersion measure of 549 pc/cc, we infer d ~ 8 kpc. At this distance and for an age comparable to tau_c, the implied pulsar velocity in the plane of the sky is V_t = 300 km/s for a birth at the center of the SNR, although it is possible that the SNR/pulsar system is younger than tau_c and that V_t > 300 km/s. The highly collimated linear feature is evidently the pulsar wind trail left from the supersonic passage of PSR J1437-5959 through the interstellar medium surrounding SNR G315.9-0.0.