The Proper Motion of the High Galactic Latitude Pulsar Calvera

TL;DR

This paper precisely measures the proper motion of the high-latitude pulsar Calvera, linking it to a nearby supernova remnant and providing insights into its origin, age, and velocity.

Contribution

It presents a new, accurate proper motion measurement for Calvera and confirms its association with a supernova remnant, clarifying its origin and kinematic history.

Findings

Proper motion of 78.5 mas/yr points away from SNR center

Calvera likely originated from a supernova less than 10 kyr ago

Pulsar's velocity depends on uncertain distance, estimated at ~372 km/s per kpc

Abstract

Calvera (1RXS J141256.0+792204) is a pulsar of characteristic age 285 kyr at a high Galactic latitude of b=+37{\deg}, detected only in soft thermal X-rays. We measure a new and precise proper motion for Calvera using Chandra HRC-I observations obtained 10 years apart. We also derive a new phase-connected ephemeris using 6 years of NICER data, including the astrometric position and proper motion as fixed parameters in the timing solution. Calvera is located near the center of a faint, circular radio ring that was recently discovered by LOFAR and confirmed as a supernova remnant (SNR) by the detection of gamma-ray emission with Fermi/LAT. The proper motion of $78.5 \pm 2.9$ mas/yr at position angle $241{\deg}.3 \pm 2{\deg}.2$ (in Galactic coordinates) points away from the center of the ring, a result which differs markedly from a previous low-significance measurement, and greatly simplifies the interpretation of the SNR/pulsar association. It argues that the supernova indeed birthed Calvera <10 kyr ago, with an initial spin period close to its present value of 59 ms. The tangential velocity of the pulsar depends on its uncertain distance, $v_t=(372 \pm 14) d_{1 kpc}$ km/s, but is probably dominated by the supernova kick, while its progenitor could have been a runaway O or B star from the Galactic disk.