THE PROPER MOTION OF PSR J1550-5418 MEASURED WITH VLBI: A SECOND MAGNETAR VELOCITY MEASUREMENT

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Abstract
The formation mechanism of neutron stars with extremely large magnetic field strengths (magnetars) remains unclear. Some formation scenarios predict that magnetars should be born with extremely high space velocities, >1000 km s–1. Using the Long Baseline Array in Australia, we have measured the proper motion of the intermittently radio-bright magnetar PSR J1550-5418 (1E 1547.0-5408): μ = 9.2 ± 0.6 mas yr–1. For a likely distance of 6 ± 2 kpc, the implied transverse velocity is 280+130 – 120 km s–1 after correcting for Galactic rotation. Along with the ≈200 km s–1 transverse velocity measured for the magnetar XTE J1810-197, this result suggests that formation pathways producing large magnetic fields do not require very large birth kicks.
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