Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/210369

Title

Parallax of PSR J1744-1134 and the local interstellar medium

Author(s)

Toscano, M.;  Britton, M. C.;  Manchester, R. N.;  Bailes, M.;  Sandhu, J. S.;  Kulkarni, S. R.;  Anderson, S. B.

Abstract

We present the annual trigonometric parallax of PSR J1744-1134 derived from an analysis of pulse times of arrival. The measured parallax, pi = 2.8+/-0.3 mas ranks among the most precisely determined distances to any pulsar. The parallax distance of 357+/-39 pc is over twice that derived from the dispersion measure using the Taylor & Cordes model for the Galactic electron distribution. The mean electron density in the path to the pulsar, n_e = (0.0088 +/- 0.0009) cm^{-3}, is the lowest for any disk pulsar. We have compared the n_e for PSR J1744-1134 with those for another 11 nearby pulsars with independent distance estimates. We conclude that there is a striking asymmetry in the distribution of electrons in the local interstellar medium. The electron column densities for pulsars in the third Galactic quadrant are found to be systematically higher than for those in the first. The former correlate with the position of the well known local HI cavity in quadrant three. The excess electrons within the cavity may be in the form of HII clouds marking a region of interaction between the local hot bubble and a nearby superbubble.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 523, no. 2 (Oct 1999), pp. L171-L175

Publication year

1999

FOR Code(s)

0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences;  0305 Organic Chemistry;  0306 Physical Chemistry (Incl. Structural)

Keyword(s)

ISM;  PSR J1744-1134;  Pulsars

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

ISSN

0004-637X

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/312276

Copyright

Copyright © 1999 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The American Astronomical Society does not allow institutions to archive either the accepted manuscript or the published version of the article. However, you can find an earlier version of the full text here: http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9906372

Peer reviewed