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[106.11] The Proper Motion of PSR B1951+32 and Its Interaction with CTB80

B. Zeiger (Willamette University, NRAO), W. F. Brisken (NRAO), S. Chatterjee (NRAO, CfA)

The supernova remnant CTB80 and the associated radio pulsar B1951+32 form a fascinating system to study the interaction of a neutron star with its environment, with the pulsar traveling toward the edge of an inner core within the extended remnant. Using 12 reference sources and a 14.5 yr time baseline, the proper motion of the pulsar was measured as -29.4± 1.3 mas yr^-1 RA and -16.7± 1.3 mas yr^-1 Dec, an improvement by a factor of two over the precision of previous measurements.

Between the two epochs the stand-off distance from the bow shock to the pulsar decreased from 2.258" in 1989 to 2.106" in 2003. The change in stand-off distance indicates a decrease of 13 the pulsar is traveling, providing support the model of CTB80’s inner core as a pulsar wind-driven nebula interacting with a cloud within the extended remnant.

We would like to thank the National Science Foundation for its generous support of this research through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: bzeiger@willamette.edu

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.