Ultra-High Resolution Intensity Statistics of a Scintillating Source

TL;DR

This paper derives the flux density distribution for a scintillating source, accounting for various observational factors, enabling detailed analysis of pulsar emission structures at ultra-high resolutions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive model for flux density distribution considering spectral averaging, source extension, and intrinsic variability, aiding pulsar studies.

Findings

Derived flux density distribution for scintillating sources.

Presented a method to estimate self-noise in observations.

Enabled analysis of emission structure at sub-diffractive scales.

Abstract

We derive the distribution of flux density of a compact source exhibiting strong diffractive scintillation. Our treatment accounts for arbitrary spectral averaging, spatially-extended source emission, and the possibility of intrinsic variability within the averaging time, as is typical for pulsars. We also derive the modulation index and present a technique for estimating the self-noise of the distribution, which can be used to identify amplitude variations on timescales shorter than the spectral accumulation time. Our results enable a for direct comparison with ultra-high resolution observations of pulsars, particularly single-pulse studies with Nyquist-limited resolution, and can be used to identify the spatial emission structure of individual pulses at a small fraction of the diffractive scale.