Scintillation Properties of PSR B1133+16 Measured with Very Long Baseline Interferometry

2025/06/02 by Ashley Stock, Stock, Ashley M., M. H. van Kerkwijk +8
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #Nuclear Physics and Applications #Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.02165

openalex publication_date 2025/06/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

The scintillation of pulsars reveals small-scale structure of the interstellar medium. A powerful technique for characterizing the scintillating structures (screens) combines analysis of scintillation arcs and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). We present the results of a VLBI analysis of the scintillation arcs of PSR B1133+16 from simultaneous observations with Arecibo, VLA, Jodrell Bank, Effelsberg, and Westerbork. Three arcs appear in the data set, all of which appear consistent with being the result of very anisotropic scattering screens. We are able to measure their orientations on the sky, down to uncertainties of 5\arcdeg for the two stronger screens, and measure distances, of 140±30, 180±20, and 250±30\rm pc, consistent with, but substantially more precise than what was inferred previously from annual modulation patterns in the scintillation. Comparing with the differential dust extinction with distance in this direction, the two nearer screens appear associated with the wall of the Local Bubble.

Citations

• Bow Shock and Local Bubble Plasma Unveiled by the Scintillating Millisecond Pulsar J0437-4715
• The Local Bubble is a Local Chimney: A New Model from 3D Dust Mapping
• The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package
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• SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python
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• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue

Related

• Precision Determination of Scintillation Screen Parameters from Annual Modulation Measurement of Pulsar Scintillation Arc Curvature with the FAST Telescope
• Associations Between Scattering Screens and Interstellar Medium Filaments
• Periodic interstellar scintillation variations of PSRs~J0613-0200 and J0636+5128 associated with the Local Bubble shell
• Multiple Imaging of PSR B1133+16 by the ISM
• Pulsar Scintillation through Thick and Thin: Bow Shocks, Bubbles, and the Broader Interstellar Medium