Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Oct 1973
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1973ap%26ss..24..407b&link_type=abstract
Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 24, Issue 2, pp.407-419
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
The application of stochastic perturbation theory to the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in a cold plasma with random magnetic inhomogeneities leads to a field equation for the propagation of the coherence matrix of the field. This has nine independent components since the longitudinal mode must be included. An exact solution is obtained leading to simple expressions for the Stokes parameters as a function of distance and one physical parameter characterizing the interstellar plasma. While the total polarization decays exponentially, it is found that the ratio of elliptical to linear polarization increases with propagation distance in an exponential fashion. Using current estimates of the properties of the interstellar plasma it is expected that this effect whereby the polarization ellipse opens into a circle should be clearly evident for sources at distances of the order of 10. parsec It is suggested that this phenomenon might be used as a distance scale for certain objects.
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