Chandra Observations of the Young, Energetic Pulsar PSR B1509-58

Victoria Kaspi(McGill University; MIT) Bryan Gaensler (MIT), Jon Arons (UC Berkeley), Michael Pivovaroff (Therma-wave Inc.), Nobu Kawai (Tokyo Institute of Technology; RIKEN) Keisuke Tamura (RIKEN)

Abstract

We present results of a 20 ks observation of the young, energetic radio pulsar PSR B1509-58 and its associated supernova remnant G320.4-1.2, obtained with the ACIS instrument aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. As with the Crab and Vela pulsars, Chandra has revealed previously unresolved, spectacular structure near the pulsar. We present a spatial analysis of the pulsar and remnant, and discuss the nature of the observed features.

CATEGORY: SUPERNOVAE, SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND ISOLATED NEUTRON STARS