Professor Donald B. Melrose (Director, RCfTA and Head of Theoretical Physics, University of Sydney)

Scintillations in the ISM - Professor Donald B. Melrose Colloquium

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

Scintillations of quasars and pulsars and in the interstellar medium were
both discovered serendipitously several decades ago. Observations of
scintillating sources have the potential to give us new insights into both
the properties of the scintillating sources and the turbulence in the ISM
that leads to the scintillations.

In this talk I will review recent observational developments, particularly
relating to IDVs and to scintillation arcs in pulsars, and discuss their
implications concerning turbulence in the ISM. I will also review the
theory of scintillations, emphasizing the transition from weak to strong
scattering, and the importance of caustics in this transitional region.
Observational signatures of caustics will also be discussed.