Detection of new Optical Counterpart candidates to PSR B1951+32 with HST/WFPC2

Abstract

There remain several definitive gamma-ray pulsars that are as yet undetected in the optical regime. A classic case is the pulsar PSR B1951+32, associated with the complex CTB 80 SNR. Previous ground based high speed 2-d optical studies have ruled out candidates to V ~ 24. Hester (2000a) has reported an analysis of archival HST/WFPC2 observations of the CTB 80 complex which suggest a compact synchrotron nebula coincident with the pulsar's radio position. Performing a similar analysis, we have identified a possible optical counterpart within this synchrotron nebula at V ~ 25.5 - 26, and another optical counterpart candidate nearby at V ~ 24.5. We assess the reality of these counterpart candidates in the context of existing models of pulsar emission.

7 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

References in corpus (3)

• Proper Motion Measurements of Pulsar B1951+32 in the Supernova Remnant CTB 80
• On the Photometric Consequences of Charge-Transfer Inefficiency in WFPC2
• Implications of the Optical Observations of Neutron Stars

Cited by in corpus (5)

• The Second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars
• Stellar Binaries That Survive Supernovae
• Multiwavelength spectroscopy of PSR B0656+14
• PSR B1951+32: A Bow Shock-Confined X-ray Nebula, a Synchrotron Knot and an Optical Counterpart Candidate
• A MERLIN Observation of PSR B1951+32 and its associated Plerion