VLBA Observations of Strong Anisotripic Radio Scattering towards the Orion Nebula [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1804.01555


We present observations of VLBA 20, a radio source found towards the edge of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). Nonthermal emission dominates the spectral energy distribution of this object from radio to mid-infrared regime, suggesting that VLBA 20 is extragalactic. This source is heavily scattered in the radio regime. Very Long Baseline Array observations resolve it to ~34×19 mas at 5 GHz, and the wavelength dependence of the scattering disk is consistent with $\nu^{-2}$ at other frequencies. The origin of the scattering is most likely the ionized X-ray emitting gas from the winds of the most massive stars of the ONC. The scattering is highly anisotropic, with the axis ratio of 2:1, higher than what is typically observed towards other sources.

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M. Kounkel, L. Hartmann, L. Loinard, et. al.
Fri, 6 Apr 18
46/49

Comments: 6 pages, accepted to AJ