Related papers: The first evidence for three-dimensional spin-velo…
Recent proper motion and parallax measurements for the pulsar PSR B1508+55 indicate a transverse velocity of ~1100 km/s, which exceeds earlier measurements for any neutron star. The spin-down characteristics of PSR B1508+55 are typical for…
We examine available observations on pulsars for evidence pertaining to mechanisms proposed to explain the origin of their velocities. We find that mechanisms predicting a correlation between the rotation axis and the pulsar velocity are…
We have recently measured the angle between the spin and orbital angular momenta of PSR B1534+12 to be either 25+/-4 deg or 155+/-4 deg. This misalignment was almost certainly caused by an asymmetry in the supernova explosion that formed…
It has been noted that the Crab and Vela pulsar proper motions lie along the symmetry axes of their wind nebulae. In an effort to promote this observation to a serious test of kick physics, we are using CXO images and other data to estimate…
Rotation-powered radio pulsars are born with inferred initial rotation periods of order 300 ms (some as short as 20 ms) in core-collapse supernovae. In the traditional picture, this fast rotation is the result of conservation of angular…
We explore a simple model for the representation of the observed distributions of the motions, and the characteristic ages of the local population of pulsars. The principal difference from earlier models is the introduction of a unique…
We have investigated the relation of the direction of the momentum among the matter, neutrino, and proto-neutron star in a collapse-driven supernova in order to discuss the pulsar kick. In particular, we have investigated the effects of the…
We study observational constraints on neutron star (NS) kicks for isolated pulsars and for neutron stars in binary systems. We are particularly interested in the evidence of kick-spin alignment/misalignment and its dependence on the neutron…
It has been recently suggested that magnetically affected neutrino oscillations inside a cooling protoneutron star, created in a supernova explosion, could explain the large proper motion of pulsars. We investigate whether this hypothesis…
Two- and three-dimensional simulations demonstrate that hydrodynamic instabilities can lead to low-mode (l=1,2) asymmetries of the fluid flow in the neutrino-heated layer behind the supernova shock. This provides a natural explanation for…
We find evidence for a faint wind nebula surrounding PSR J0538+2817 in CXO-ACIS imaging. This object is particularly interesting, as the pulsar spindown age is largest for any such X-ray PWN. If interpreted as an equatorial torus, the PWN…
Natal kicks and spins are characteristic properties of neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs). Both offer valuable clues to dynamical processes during stellar core collapse and explosion. Moreover, they influence the evolution of stellar…
We analyse the sample of pulsar proper motions, taking detailed account of the selection effects of the original surveys. We treat censored data using survival statistics. From a comparison of our results with Monte Carlo simulations, we…
The current understanding of the spin evolution of young pulsars is reviewed through a compilation of braking index measurements. An immediate conclusion is that the spin evolution of all pulsars with a measured braking index is not purely…
Recently, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) measured the three-dimensional velocity of PSR J0538+2817 in its associated supernova remnant S147 and found a possible spin-velocity alignment in this pulsar. Here…
Observational advances over the last decade have left little doubt that neutron stars received a large kick velocity (of order a few hundred to a thousand km/s) at birth. The physical origin of the kicks and the related supernova asymmetry…
Two entwined problems have remained unresolved since pulsars were discovered nearly 50 years ago: the orientation of their polarized emission relative to the emitting magnetic field and the direction of putative supernova ``kicks' relative…
We have made VLA images of the fields around three young pulsars which have resulted in the discovery of two new supernova remnants and confirmation of a third. We argue that, in at least two cases and perhaps the third, the pulsars are…
Binary and Millisecond pulsars have a great deal to teach us about stellar evolution and are invaluable tools for tests of relativistic theories of gravity. Our understanding of these objects has been transformed by large-scale surveys that…
Double neutron stars (DNSs), binary systems consisting of a radio pulsar and a generally undetected second neutron star (NS), have proven to be excellent laboratories for testing the theory of general relativity. The seven systems…