Precision Determination of Scintillation Screen Parameters from Annual Modulation Measurement of Pulsar Scintillation Arc Curvature with the FAST Telescope

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Hauptverfasser: Huang, Yuanshang, Shi, Xun, Yao, Jumei, Zhu, Weiwei, Xu, Yonghua
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Huang, Yuanshang
Shi, Xun
Yao, Jumei
Zhu, Weiwei
Xu, Yonghua
author_facet Huang, Yuanshang
Shi, Xun
Yao, Jumei
Zhu, Weiwei
Xu, Yonghua
contents Pulsar scintillation observations have revealed ubiquitous discrete scintillation screens in the interstellar medium. A major obstacle in identifying the nature of these screens is the uncertainty in their distances, which prevents precise correlation with known structures in the Milky Way. We used the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to observe PSR B1237+25, PSR 1842+14, and PSR 2021+51. We detected 10 scintillation arcs in PSR B1237+25, 1 in PSR 1842+14, and at least 6 in PSR 2021+51. By modeling the annual modulation of these scintillation arcs, we constrained the distances of the scintillation screens, as well as the anisotropic scattering directions and the projected velocities in those directions. The scintillation screens are distributed throughout the entire paths between Earth and the pulsars. Among these, the distance to the main scintillation screen toward PSR B1237+25 is $267^{+32}_{-28}$ pc, the scintillation screen toward PSR B1842+14 is at a distance of $240^{+210}_{-120}$ pc, and the main scintillation screen toward PSR B2021+51 is located at $887^{+167}_{-132}$ pc. Several screens in our sample appear at distances coinciding with the Local Bubble boundary, particularly the brightest scintillation arc toward PSR B1237+25. We provide a substantial sample of scintillation screen measurements, revealing the rich plasma density fluctuation structures present in the Milky Way.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_19531
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Precision Determination of Scintillation Screen Parameters from Annual Modulation Measurement of Pulsar Scintillation Arc Curvature with the FAST Telescope
Huang, Yuanshang
Shi, Xun
Yao, Jumei
Zhu, Weiwei
Xu, Yonghua
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Pulsar scintillation observations have revealed ubiquitous discrete scintillation screens in the interstellar medium. A major obstacle in identifying the nature of these screens is the uncertainty in their distances, which prevents precise correlation with known structures in the Milky Way. We used the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to observe PSR B1237+25, PSR 1842+14, and PSR 2021+51. We detected 10 scintillation arcs in PSR B1237+25, 1 in PSR 1842+14, and at least 6 in PSR 2021+51. By modeling the annual modulation of these scintillation arcs, we constrained the distances of the scintillation screens, as well as the anisotropic scattering directions and the projected velocities in those directions. The scintillation screens are distributed throughout the entire paths between Earth and the pulsars. Among these, the distance to the main scintillation screen toward PSR B1237+25 is $267^{+32}_{-28}$ pc, the scintillation screen toward PSR B1842+14 is at a distance of $240^{+210}_{-120}$ pc, and the main scintillation screen toward PSR B2021+51 is located at $887^{+167}_{-132}$ pc. Several screens in our sample appear at distances coinciding with the Local Bubble boundary, particularly the brightest scintillation arc toward PSR B1237+25. We provide a substantial sample of scintillation screen measurements, revealing the rich plasma density fluctuation structures present in the Milky Way.
title Precision Determination of Scintillation Screen Parameters from Annual Modulation Measurement of Pulsar Scintillation Arc Curvature with the FAST Telescope
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19531