# The Tail of PSR J0002+6216 and the Supernova Remnant CTB 1

## TL;DR

This study combines radio and gamma-ray observations to measure the proper motion of pulsar PSR J0002+6216, linking it to the supernova remnant CTB 1 and providing insights into pulsar birth and supernova asymmetries.

## Contribution

It presents the first combined radio and gamma-ray analysis of PSR J0002+6216, measuring its proper motion and associating it with CTB 1, revealing high pulsar velocity and implications for supernova dynamics.

## Key findings

- Pulsar is at the tip of a bow-shock nebula pointing to CTB 1
- Proper motion measured at 115±33 mas/yr, indicating a velocity of 1100 km/s
- Pulsar likely originated from the supernova that created CTB 1

## Abstract

We have carried out VLA imaging and a Fermi timing analysis of the 115 ms gamma-ray and radio pulsar PSR J0002+6216. We found that the pulsar lies at the apex of a narrowly collimated cometary-like 7 arcmin tail of non-thermal radio emission which we identify as a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula. The tail of the nebula points back toward the geometric center of the supernova remnant CTB 1 (G116.9+0.2) 28 arcmin away, at a position angle $\theta_\mu=113^\circ$. We measure a proper motion with 2.9$\sigma$ significance from a Fermi timing analysis giving $\mu$=115$\pm$33 mas yr$^{-1}$ and $\theta_\mu=121^\circ\pm{13}^\circ$, corresponding to a large transverse pulsar velocity of 1100 km s$^{-1}$ at a distance of 2 kpc. This proper motion is of the right magnitude and direction to support the claim that PSR J0002+6216 was born from the same supernova that produced CTB 1. We explore the implications for pulsar birth periods, asymmetric supernova explosions, and mechanisms for pulsar natal kick velocities.