THE PROPER MOTION AND WIND NEBULA OF THE NEARBY MILLISECOND PULSAR J0437-4715

摘要

Pulse arrival time measurements have been obtained over a 2 year interval for PSR J0437—4715 using the Parkes radio telescope. These data show that the proper motion of the pulsar is 135 ± 4 mas yr~(-1) at a position angle of 122° ± 2°. This agrees well with the proper motion of the optical companion, putting the association beyond doubt. An Hα image confirms that the nebulosity first detected by Bell, Bailes, & Bessell is a bow shock associated with the pulsar and shows that its orientation is close to that expected from the proper motion.