Abstract
We discuss the degree to which radio propagation measurements diagnose conditions in the ionized gas of the interstellar medium (ISM). The “signal generators” of the radio waves of interest are extragalactic radio sources (quasars and radio galaxies), as well as Galactic sources, primarily pulsars. The polarized synchrotron radiation of the Galactic non-thermal radiation also serves to probe the ISM, including space between the emitting regions and the solar system. Radio propagation measurements provide unique information on turbulence in the ISM as well as the mean plasma properties such as density and magnetic field strength. Radio propagation observations can provide input to the major contemporary questions on the nature of ISM turbulence, such as its dissipation mechanisms and the processes responsible for generating the turbulence on large spatial scales. Measurements of the large scale Galactic magnetic field via Faraday rotation provide unique observational input to theories of the generation of the Galactic field.
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Notes
We thank James Cordes of Cornell University for providing this graph.
Faraday-thin component is defined as a gaseous medium observed at a wavelength where the change of polarization angle through Faraday rotation is small. Brentjens and de Bruyn (2005) define Faraday-thin as ϕλ 2≪1 and Faraday-thick as ϕλ 2≫1. A Faraday-thin component displays negligible internal Faraday depolarization.
A more precise and technical statement would be that both the positive and negative “Elsasser Variables” are present in solar wind turbulence.
Baroclinic effects involve the generation of fluid vorticity by misaligned gradients of pressure and density.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported at the University of Iowa by grants AST09-07911 and ATM09-56901 from the National Science Foundation of the United States. M.H. acknowledges the support of research programme 639.042.915, which is partly financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The authors acknowledge the work of Jacob J. Buffo of the University of Iowa in the analysis of model structure functions, contained in Figs. 4 and 5. We thank James Cordes of Cornell University for providing the beautiful pulsar dynamic spectrum in Fig. 1 as an illustration of one of the phenomena of radio wave propagation in a random medium. We also appreciate the advice and recommendations of Dr. Cordes on the question of the spatial uniformity of interstellar turbulence. Finally, we thank Olga Alexandrova, Rainer Beck, and Alex Lazarian for interesting, helpful, and collegial readings of this paper.
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Haverkorn, M., Spangler, S.R. Plasma Diagnostics of the Interstellar Medium with Radio Astronomy. Space Sci Rev 178, 483–511 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-013-0014-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-013-0014-6