| Possible optical detection of a fast, nearby radio pulsar PSR B1133+16 (2007) | |||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||
| Aims: We performed deep optical observations of the field of an old, fast-moving radio pulsar PSR B1133+16 in an attempt to detect its optical counterpart and a bow shock nebula. Methods: The observations were carried out using the direct imaging mode of FORS1 at the ESO VLT/UT1 telescope in the B, R, and H_alpha bands. We also used archival images of the same field obtained with the VLT in the B band and with the Chandra/ACIS in X-rays. Results: In the B band we detected a faint (B=28.1+/-0.3) source that may be the optical counterpart of PSR B1133+16, as it is positionally consistent with the radio pulsar and with the X-ray counterpart candidate published earlier. Its upper limit in the R band implies a color index B-R . Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, A&A, accepted | |||||||||
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