Abstract
Abstract
We use four observations with the European very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) network to measure the first precise radio parallax of the Crab Pulsar. We found two in-beam extragalactic sources just outside the Crab Nebula, with one bright enough to use as a background reference source in our data. We use the Crab Pulsar’s giant pulses to determine fringe and bandpass calibration solutions, which greatly improved the sensitivity and reliability of our images and allowed us to determine precise positional offsets between the pulsar and the background source. From those offsets, we determine a parallax of π = 0.53 ± 0.06 mas and proper motion of (μ
α
, μ
δ
) = (−11.34 ± 0.06, 2.65 ± 0.14) mas yr−1, yielding a distance of
d
=
1.90
−
0.18
+
0.22
kpc
and transverse velocity of
v
⊥
=
104
−
11
+
13
km
s
−
1
. These results are consistent with the Gaia 3 measurements, and open up the possibility of far more accurate astrometry with further VLBI observations.
Funder
Gouvernement du Canada ∣ Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Killam Trusts
Swedish Research Council
Ontario Research Foundation
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
MOST ∣ NSFC ∣ Joint Research Fund for Overseas Chinese Scholars and Scholars in Hong Kong and Macao
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Subject
Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics