On the pulsar distribution in the solar neighborhood

The spatial distribution of pulsars in the solar neighborhood is investigated on the basis of the recent catalog of Taylor, Manchester, and Lyne. It is shown that “old” pulsars with an age τ > 2.10⁶ yr, like “young ” ones, are indicators of fragments of the Galaxy’s spiral structure. It is concluded that if the distance scale adopted in the catalog is accurate, the peculiar velocities of the pulsars with the most accurate distances must be far lower than those adopted up to now. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 245–250, April-June, 1998.