A dense plasma globule in the solar neighborhood

TL;DR

This paper reports the first direct imaging of a dense plasma globule near the solar system, which caused extreme interstellar scintillation of a radio source, revealing its size, shape, and magnetic properties through radio-polarimetric observations.

Contribution

It provides the first direct imaging and characterization of a plasma globule responsible for extreme scintillation, advancing understanding of small-scale interstellar structures.

Findings

Detected an elliptical plasma globule via Faraday rotation

Globule size approximately 1° by >2°

Globule caused extreme scintillation of J1819+3845

Abstract

The radio source J1819+3845 underwent a period of extreme interstellar scintillation between circa 1999 and 2007. The plasma structure responsible for this scintillation was determined to be just $1$-$3\,$pc from the solar system and to posses a density of $n_e\sim 10^2\,$cm$^{-3}$ that is three orders of magnitude higher than the ambient interstellar density (de Bruyn & Macquart 2015). Here we present radio-polarimetric images of the field towards J1819+3845 at wavelengths of 0.2, 0.92 and 2$\,$m. We detect an elliptical plasma globule of approximate size $1^\circ \times \gtrsim 2^\circ$ (major-axis position angle of $\approx -40^\circ$), via its Faraday-rotation imprint ($\approx 15\,$rad$\,$m$^{-2}$) on the diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission. The extreme scintillation of J1819+3845 was most likely caused at the turbulent boundary of the globule (J1819+3845 is currently occulted by the globule). The origin and precise nature of the globule remain unknown. Our observations are the first time plasma structures that likely cause extreme scintillation have been directly imaged.