Exploring Galactic plasma with pulsars in the SKA era

TL;DR

This paper reviews how pulsars are used to study the ionised plasma in the Milky Way, discussing current methods, challenges, and future improvements with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of pulsar-based plasma research and outlines future prospects with SKA enhancements.

Findings

Current techniques effectively measure electron distribution and magnetic fields.

SKA will significantly improve plasma characterization capabilities.

Understanding plasma impacts is crucial for pulsar-based experiments like Pulsar Timing Arrays.

Abstract

The ionised media that permeate the Milky Way have been active topics of research since the discovery of pulsars in 1967. In fact, pulsars allow one to study several aspects of said plasma, such as their column density, turbulence, scattering measures, and discrete, intervening structures between the neutron star and the observer, as well as aspects of the magnetic field throughout. Such sources of information allow us to characterise the electron distribution in the terrestrial ionosphere, the Solar Wind, and our Galaxy, as well as the impact on other experiments involving pulsars, such as Pulsar Timing Arrays. In this article, we review the state-of-the-art in plasma research using pulsars, the aspects that should be taken into consideration for optimal plasma studies, and we provide future perspectives on improvements enabled by the SKA.