Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-10-05
New Astron.Rev. 48 (2004) 1439-1457
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
20 pages, 8 figures in 8 PostScript files, to appear in "Science with the Square Kilometer Array," eds. C. Carilli and S. Rawl
Scientific paper
10.1016/j.newar.2004.09.039
Radio waves are imprinted with propagation effects from ionized media through which they pass. Owing to electron density fluctuations, compact sources (pulsars, masers, and compact extragalactic sources) can display a wide variety of scattering effects. These scattering effects, particularly interstellar scintillation, can be exploited to provide *superresolution*, with achievable angular resolutions (<~ 1 microarcsecond) far in excess of what can be obtained by very long baseline interferometry on terrestrial baselines. Scattering effects also provide a powerful sub-AU probe of the microphysics of the interstellar medium, potentially to spatial scales smaller than 100 km, as well as a tracer of the Galactic distribution of energy input into the interstellar medium through a variety of integrated measures. Coupled with future gamma-ray observations, SKA observations also may provide a means of detecting fainter compact gamma-ray sources. Though it is not yet clear that propagation effects due to the intergalactic medium are significant, the SKA will either detect or place stringent constraints on intergalactic scattering.
Cordes James M.
de Bruyn Ger A.
Lazio Joseph T. W.
Macquart Jean-Pierre
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