Proper motion, spectra, and timing of PSR J1813-1749 using Chandra and NICER

Mon Not R Astron Soc. 2020 Nov;498(3):4396-4403. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staa2653. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

Abstract

PSR J1813-1749 is one of the most energetic rotation-powered pulsars known, producing a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and gamma-ray and TeV emission, but whose spin period is only measurable in X-ray. We present analysis of two Chandra datasets that are separated by more than ten years and recent NICER data. The long baseline of the Chandra data allows us to derive a pulsar proper motion μ R.A. = - ( 0 . 067 ± 0 . 010 ) yr-1 and μ decl. = - ( 0 . 014 ± 0 . 007 ) yr-1 and velocity v ≈ 900-1600 km s-1 (assuming a distance d = 3 - 5 kpc), although we cannot exclude a contribution to the change in measured pulsar position due to a change in brightness structure of the PWN very near the pulsar. We model the PWN and pulsar spectra using an absorbed power law and obtain best-fit absorption N H = (13.1 ± 0.9) × 1022 cm-2, photon index Γ = 1.5 ± 0.1, and 0.3-10 keV luminosity L X ≈ 5.4 × 1034 erg s-1(d/ 5 kpc)2 for the PWN and Γ = 1.2 ± 0.1 and L X « 9.3 × 1033 erg s-1(d/ 5 kpc)2 for PSR J1813-1749. These values do not change between the 2006 and 2016 observations. We use NICER observations from 2019 to obtain a timing model of PSR J1813-1749, with spin frequency ν = 22.35 Hz and spin frequency time derivative v . = ( - 6.428 ± 0.003 ) × 10 - 11 Hz s-1. We also fit ν measurements from 2009-2012 and our 2019 value and find a long-term spin-down rate v . = ( - 6.3445 ± 0.0004 ) × 10 - 11 Hz s-1. We speculate that the difference in spin-down rates is due to glitch activity or emission mode switching.

Keywords: HESS J1813–178 – ISM: supernova remnants – pulsars: general – pulsars: individual: CXOU J181335.16–174957.4; ISM: individual: G12.82–0.02; PSR J1813–1749–X-rays: stars.