PSR J1740+1000: A Young Pulsar Well Out of the Galactic Plane

We discuss PSR J1740+1000, one of five pulsars recently discovered in a search of 470 deg2 at 430 MHz during the upgrade of the 305 m Arecibo Telescope. The period P = 154 ms and period derivative Ṗ = 2.1 × 10-14 s s-1 imply a spin-down age τs = P/2Ṗ = 114 kyr that is smaller than 95% of all known pulsars. The youth and proximity of this pulsar make it a good candidate for detection at X-ray and gamma-ray energies. Its high Galactic latitude (b = 20.°4) suggests a very high velocity if the pulsar was born in the midplane of the Galaxy and if its kinematic age equals its spin-down age. Interstellar scintillations, however, suggest a much lower velocity. We discuss possible explanations for this discrepancy, taking into account (1) possible birth sites away from the midplane; (2) contributions from the unmeasured radial velocity; (3) a kinematic age different from the spin-down age; and (4) biasing of the scintillation velocity by enhanced scattering from the North Polar Spur.

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