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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

PSR B0355+54: An Unexpected Compendium of Nearly All Scintillation Arc Morphologies

  • Zhen-Long Liao1,2
  • Zhen Yan1,2,3
  • Zhi-Qiang Shen1,2,3,4
  • Rui Wang5
  • Xun Shi6
  • Ke-Jia Lee7,8
  • Ju-Mei Yao9,10
  • Xiao-Wei Wang1,3
  • Zhi-Peng Huang11,12
  • Kuo Liu1,2,3
  • Yong-Hua Xu13
  • Chu-Yuan Zhang1,2
2 more authors
  • Fan Yang1,4
  • Yang-Yang Lin1
13 affiliations
  1. 1Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 200030 ,
  2. 2School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 ,
  3. 3State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 200030 ,
  4. 4School of Physical Science and Technology , ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210 ,
  5. 5School of Information Engineering, Sanming University , Sanming 365004 ,
  6. 6South-Western Institute for Astronomy Research , Yunnan University, Kunming 650500 ,
  7. 7School of Physics Department of Astronomy, , Peking University, Beijing 100871 ,
  8. 8Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics , Peking University, Beijing 100871 ,
  9. 9State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology , Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, CAS, 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi, 830011 ,
  10. 10Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Radio Astrophysics , 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi 830011 ,
  11. 11School of Optoelectronic Information Engineering , Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205 ,
  12. 12Institute of Astronomy and High Energy Physics , Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205 ,
  13. 13Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650011 ,
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Abstract

Scintillation arcs are sensitive probes of multipath propagation, offering a window into the distribution of scattering material in the interstellar medium. Contrary to the common observational finding that individual pulsars exhibit only a limited range of scintillation arc morphologies, we report that PSR B0355+54, observed simultaneously at 2.25/8.60 GHz with the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope, displays nearly the full range of known arc patterns, many of which evolve rapidly. Across 54 observations from 2020 to 2026, we detect scintillation arcs in 53/53 usable observations at 2.25 GHz and 33/49 at 8.60 GHz. At 2.25 GHz, the secondary spectra exhibit five broad morphological types: forward arcs, inverted arclets, diffuse arcs, diffuse power, and irregular structures, with prominent displaced arclets appearing in several observations. In contrast, the 8.60-GHz spectra are generally dominated by faint forward arcs. Despite these marked morphological differences, the scaled curvatures and their annual variations agree between the two frequencies, showing that both trace the same dominant scattering screen at a fractional distance of s=0.069+0.015−0.014 near the pulsar, further supporting a possible association with the H ii region Sh 2-205. Simulations show that this diversity can arise from variations in the scattered-image distribution within this screen, while brightness reconstructions at 2.25 GHz resolve localized structure down to ∼0.02 mas. Tracking four arclets over 10 h at 8.60 GHz, including two displaced arclets, reveals a common evolutionary trend consistent with the line of sight sweeping across small-scale scattering structure, helping explain the rapid arc evolution.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{liao2026b035554,
  title = {{PSR B0355+54: An Unexpected Compendium of Nearly All Scintillation Arc Morphologies}},
  author = {Zhen-Long Liao and Zhen Yan and Zhi-Qiang Shen and Rui Wang and Xun Shi and Ke-Jia Lee and Ju-Mei Yao and Xiao-Wei Wang and Zhi-Peng Huang and Kuo Liu and Yong-Hua Xu and Chu-Yuan Zhang and Fan Yang and Yang-Yang Lin},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag1994},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1994/8965453},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - PSR B0355+54: An Unexpected Compendium of Nearly All Scintillation Arc Morphologies
AU  - Zhen-Long Liao
AU  - Zhen Yan
AU  - Zhi-Qiang Shen
AU  - Rui Wang
AU  - Xun Shi
AU  - Ke-Jia Lee
AU  - Ju-Mei Yao
AU  - Xiao-Wei Wang
AU  - Zhi-Peng Huang
AU  - Kuo Liu
AU  - Yong-Hua Xu
AU  - Chu-Yuan Zhang
AU  - Fan Yang
AU  - Yang-Yang Lin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO  - 10.1093/mnras/stag1994
UR  - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1994/8965453
AB  - Scintillation arcs are sensitive probes of multipath propagation, offering a window into the distribution of scattering material in the interstellar medium. Contrary to the common observational finding that individual pulsars exhibit only a limited range of scintillation arc morphologies, we report that PSR B0355+54, observed simultaneously at 2.25/8.60 GHz with the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope, displays nearly the full range of known arc patterns, many of which evolve rapidly. Across 54 observations from 2020 to 2026, we detect scintillation arcs in 53/53 usable observations at 2.25 GHz and 33/49 at 8.60 GHz. At 2.25 GHz, the secondary spectra exhibit five broad morphological types: forward arcs, inverted arclets, diffuse arcs, diffuse power, and irregular structures, with prominent displaced arclets appearing in several observations. In contrast, the 8.60-GHz spectra are generally dominated by faint forward arcs. Despite these marked morphological differences, the scaled curvatures and their annual variations agree between the two frequencies, showing that both trace the same dominant scattering screen at a fractional distance of s=0.069^+0.015_−0.014 near the pulsar, further supporting a possible association with the H ii region Sh 2-205. Simulations show that this diversity can arise from variations in the scattered-image distribution within this screen, while brightness reconstructions at 2.25 GHz resolve localized structure down to ∼0.02 mas. Tracking four arclets over 10 h at 8.60 GHz, including two displaced arclets, reveals a common evolutionary trend consistent with the line of sight sweeping across small-scale scattering structure, helping explain the rapid arc evolution.
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
ER  -