Interstellar scattering - New diagnostics of pulsars and the ISM

TL;DR

This paper discusses advanced techniques like speckle imaging to better understand interstellar turbulence and pulsar magnetospheres, addressing key challenges highlighted by scattering phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces the theory of speckle imaging as a new diagnostic tool for probing interstellar turbulence and pulsar magnetospheres at unprecedented scales.

Findings

Speckle imaging can reveal properties of interstellar turbulence.

Potential to resolve pulsar magnetospheres at nanoarcsecond scales.

Addresses fundamental problems in interstellar scattering understanding.

Abstract

Extreme Scattering Events and pulsar secondary spectra have highlighted fundamental problems in our understanding of the dynamics of interstellar turbulence. We describe some of these problems in detail and present the theory behind the technique of speckle imaging, which offers a prospect of revealing fundamental properties of the turbulence. It also offers the prospect of resolving pulsar magnetospheres on ~10 nanoarcsecond scales.