The Proper Motion of the Pulsar J1124–5916 in the Galactic Supernova Remnant G292.0+1.8

Abstract

Abstract We present the first direct measurement of the proper motion of pulsar J1124–5916 in the young, oxygen-rich supernova remnant G292.0+1.8. Using deep Chandra ACIS-I observations from 2006 to 2016, we measure a positional change of 0.″21 ± 0.″05 over the ∼10 yr baseline, or ∼0.″02 yr−1. At a distance of 6.2 ± 0.9 kpc, this corresponds to a kick velocity in the plane of the sky of 612 ± 152 km s−1. We compare this direct measurement against the velocity inferred from estimates based on the center of mass of the ejecta. Additionally, we use this new proper-motion measurement to compare the motion of the neutron star to the center of expansion of the optically emitting ejecta. We derive an age estimate for the supernova remnant of ≳2000 yr. The high measured kick velocity is in line with recent studies of high proper motion neutron stars in other Galactic supernova remnants and consistent with a hydrodynamic origin to the neutron star kick.