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J. A. Myers, M. L. Rudolph, D. R. Stinebring (Oberlin), W. A. Coles, B. J. Rickett (UCSD)
Pulsar scintillation often shows organized and simple structure in a power spectrum analysis. In particular, the power in the secondary spectrum is frequently organized along parabolas that can be identified with thin scattering screens in the interstellar medium. Hill et al. (2005) showed an example in which substructure moved along a parabolic path in accord with the known motion of the pulsar across the sky and the derived distance to the scattering screen. We report results of a simulation in which coherent electromagnetic waves are propagated through a turbulent phase-changing screen causing interference effects at the observer. The inhomogeneities in the screen are assumed to have a Kolmogorov spectrum and are localized in distinct clouds embedded in the screen. We find movement in the secondary spectrum substructure that is consistent with the observations reported by Hill et al. (2005). We comment on the physical implications of the isolated substructure and its persistence in both the simulation and the observations.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.