Interpretation of parabolic arcs in pulsar secondary spectra

Abstract

Pulsar dynamic spectra sometimes show organised interference patterns; these patterns have been shown to have power spectra which often take the form of parabolic arcs, or sequences of inverted parabolic arclets whose apexes themselves follow a parabolic locus. Here we consider the interpretation of these arc and arclet features. We give a statistical formulation for the appearance of the power spectra, based on the stationary phase approximation to the Fresnel-Kirchoff integral. We present a simple analytic result for the power-spectrum expected in the case of highly elongated images, and a single-integral analytic formulation appropriate to the case of axisymmetric images. Our results are illustrated in both the ensemble-average and snapshot regimes. Highly anisotropic scattering appears to be an important ingredient in the formation of the observed arclets.