Radio Proper Motions of the Energetic Pulsar PSR J1813–1749

Abstract

Abstract PSR J1813–1749 has peculiarities that make it a very interesting object of study. It is one of the most energetic and the most scattered pulsars known. It is associated with HESS J1813–178, one of the brightest and most compact TeV sources in the sky. Recently, Ho et al. used archival X-ray Chandra observations separated by more than 10 yr and determined that the total proper motion of PSR J1813–1749 is ∼66 mas yr−1, corresponding to a velocity of ∼1900 km s−1 for a distance of 6.2 kpc. These results would imply that this pulsar is the fastest neutron star known in the Galaxy and, by estimating the angular separation with respect to the center of the associated supernova remnant, has an age of only ∼300 yr, making it one of the youngest pulsars known. Using archival high angular resolution VLA observations taken over 12 yr we have estimated the radio proper motions of PSR J1813–1748 to be much smaller: ( μ α · cos ( δ ) , μ δ ) = (−5.0 ± 3.7, −13.2 ± 6.7) mas yr−1, or a total proper motion of 14.8 ± 5.9 mas yr−1. The positions referenced against quasars make our results reliable. We conclude that PSR J1813–1749 is not a very fast moving source. Its kinematic age using the new total proper motion is ∼1350 yr. This age is consistent within a factor of a few with the characteristic age of the pulsar and with the age estimated from the broadband spectral energy distribution of HESS J1813–178, as well as the age of the associated supernova remnant.