Parkes observations for project P1129 semester 2022OCTS_06

Full description

PSR J0837$-$2454 is a young, high-Galactic-latitude pulsar, whose distance derived from dispersion measure (DM) implies a height of $>$1~kpc above the Galactic plane. The young age (28kyr) and position can be explained if (i) the pulsar was born at this high Galactic $z$-height from a runaway or walkaway O/B star; or (ii) the DM-derived distance to this pulsar is incorrect and the pulsar is closer to the plane of the Galaxy. VLBA observations will provide us with an estimate of the proper motion of the pulsar, along with the distance to the pulsar through a measurement of the parallax if the pulsar is closer than the DM implies. These measurements are crucial to determining whether or not this pulsar represents the remnants of a rare Milky Way halo O/B star. This proposal seeks to continue monitoring this pulsar in order to maintain phase connection of the timing solution throughout the duration of planned VLBA observations. This is crucial for conducting gated observations with the VLBA, but will also contribute to studies of the pulsar's emission properties and the ISM along the line-of-sight to the pulsar.