Real-time detection of an extreme scattering event: constraints on Galactic plasma lenses
Astrophysics of Galaxies
2016-01-25 v1 High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract
Extreme scattering events (ESEs) are distinctive fluctuations in the brightness of astronomical radio sources caused by occulting plasma lenses in the interstellar medium. The inferred plasma pressures of the lenses are times the ambient pressure, challenging our understanding of gas conditions in the Milky Way. Using a new survey technique, we have discovered an ESE while it was in progress. We report radio and optical follow-up observations. Modelling of the radio data demonstrates that the lensing structure is a density enhancement and that the lens is diverging, ruling out one of two competing physical models. Our technique will uncover many more ESEs, addressing a long-standing mystery of the small-scale gas structure of the Galaxy.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1601.05876,
title = {Real-time detection of an extreme scattering event: constraints on Galactic plasma lenses},
author = {Keith W. Bannister and Jamie Stevens and Artem V. Tuntsov and Mark A. Walker and Simon Johnston and Cormac Reynolds and Hayley Bignall},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.05876},
year = {2016}
}