Intraday variability is detected in Blazars throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Only radio emission is affected by interstellar scintillation. The characteristics of variability observed at different frequencies are often similar and suggest that intrinsic variations also contribute to the changes detected in the radio wavelength regime. This in turn implies very high brightness temperatures.

Unambiguous signatures of scintillation and of intrinsic changes have been identified. The properties of intrinsic variations are reviewed to illustrate their potential contribution to variability in the radio domain. Such intrinsic changes need to be discriminated against when studying scintillation in quasars and BL Lac objects. Observations of scintillating sources and of sources with significant intrinsic IDV suggest interesting modifications to the standard paradigm of AGN.

We present results of the ATCA IDV Survey of southern extragalactic radio sources. We discuss briefly the properties of the 22 new intraday variable sources discovered in the Survey. The follow-up observations of a few extreme examples of strong intraday variability are presented. We find that the characteristics of the total flux density fluctuations at different wavelengths are consistent with intersteller scintillations (ISS) of the microarcsecondsize soorten components. However, the scintillating components of a few extreme IDVs are characterized by the brightness temperatures far exceeding the TB = 1012 K limit. The relativistic beaming invoked in such sources would require Doppler factors up to as high as δ ~ 103.

Intraday variability in compact flat-spectrum radio sources has been intensively studied in recent years. For most IDV events the apparent brightness temperatures derived from the observed timescales are in the range of Tb,app ~ 1016−18 K. For extremely rapid variations, Tb,app can reach up to ~ 1021 K (e.g. Kedziora-Chudczer et al., 1997). Refractive interstellar scintillation may be the most likely extrinsic mechanism (Rickett et al., 1995; Qian, 1994a; Qian, 1994b). Especially for the case of extreme Tb,app (> 1018 K) RISS may be dominant (Dennet-Thorpe and de Bruyn, 2000). However, some IDV events with Tapp ~ 1017−18 K show evidence for an intrinsic origin e.g. the correlated radio-optical intraday variations observed in the BL Lac object 0716+714 (Wagner and Witzel, 1995, Qian et al, 1996). It seems important to distinguish between IDV which is a phenomenon intrinsic to the compact radio sources and IDV which is primarily due to RISS. Multifrequency polarization and VLB I observations would be most helpful (Gabuzda and Kochanev, 1997).

In the roughly 20 years of its existence as an observational science, gravitational lensing has established itself as a valuable tool in many astrophysical fields. In the introduction of this review we briefly present the basics of lensing. Then it is shown that the two propagation effects, lensing and scintillation, have a number of properties in common. In the main part various lensing phenomena are discussed with emphasis on recent observations.

It is shown that the detailed inter-relations of the 8.6 GHz IDV in Stokes’ parameters I, Q and U of the quasar 0405-385, as quantified by their auto and cross correlations, can be successfully modelled by interstellar scintillation (ISS) of a double source with two components separated by about 10 micro-arcseconds. Though this is not a unique source model it confirms that ISS can explain quantitatively the rapid variations in both flux and linear polarization. Thus there is no evidence in support of an intrinsic component in the IDV.

We find strong (> 1%) circular polarization in the intraday-variable radio source PKS 1519–273. The source exhibits ~ 12 hourly variability in all four Stokes parameters at 4.8 and 8.6 GHz, and longer timescale variability at 2.5 and 1.4 GHz. The characteristics and frequency dependence of the variability suggest that it is due to interstellar scintillation. VSOP limits on the distance to the scattering screen constrain the brightness temperature to TB > 5 × 1013 K. The fluctuations in total intensity are well-correlated with those in circular polarization, implying that the variable component of the source is −3.8 ±0.4% circularly polarized at 4.8 GHz. The origin of the circular polarization is unclear.

The quasar J1819+3845 shows exceedingly rapid variations in both total intensity and linear polarization. These are attributed to interstellar scintillation. The source contains at least two structural components each of which shows variable polarization behaviour. The polarization variations are generally, but perhaps not always, coherent over the 80 MHz band setting. The 6 cm lightcurves in the first few months of 2000 hint at a time-asymmetric behaviour as could be expected from an asymmetric source structure.

VLBA polarimetric observations of the steep-spectrum quasar 3C147 were made at four frequencies in the available 5 GHz band, from which polarization in one bright feature in the inner jet was detected. The rotation measure of this feature (~ 1300 rad m−2) agrees with the known high rotation measure of the source, which makes it possible to remove the Faraday screen pixel-by-pixel and obtain the intrinsic magnetic field structure. The arch shape of B vectors suggests that a relativistic and distorted jet is being seen in projection.

Extreme Scattering Events are sometimes manifest in the light-curves of compact radio-quasars at frequencies of a few GHz. These events are not understood. The model which appears to offer the best explanation requires a new population of AU-sized, neutral gas clouds; these clouds would then make up a large fraction of the Galaxy’s dark matter. Independent of the question of which theoretical model is correct, if we extrapolate the observed behaviour to low radio-frequencies, we expect that the sky should be criss-crossed by a network of narrow caustics, at frequencies below about 700 MHz. Consequently at these frequencies sources should typically manifest additional, faint images which are substantially delayed with respect to the primary image. Although some examples of this type of behaviour are already known, it is expected that these are just the tip of the iceberg, with strong selection biases having been imposed by the instrumentation employed to date.

We review observational constraints on the structures responsible for extreme scattering events, focussing on a series of observations of the quasar PKS 1741–038. VLA observations were conducted to search for changes in the rotation measure and HI absorption during the ESE, while VLBI observations sought ESE-induccd changes in the source’s image. No RM changes were found implying B‖ < 12 mG, and no HI opacity changes were found implying N(HI) < 6.4 × 1017 cm−2. No multiple imaging was observed, but the diameter of the source increased by 0.7 mas, contrary to what is predicted by simple refractive lens modeling of ESEs. We summarize what these limits imply about the structure responsible for this ESE.

Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of PSR 0329+54 which, by luck, occurred during an interstellar fringing event, are presented. Separate images of the pulsar were not detected. However, the pulsar was observed to be extended. The size of PSR 0329+54 during this event is 1.88 × 1.67 mas with a position angle of 30° East of North. This could be due to two separate images of the pulsar separated by ∆θ ≲ 0.5 mas or angular broadening. The observed image size is larger than the expected angular broadening size of < 0.1 mas from the observations of Britton, Gwinn and Ojeda (1998).

Data on interstellar diffraction and refraction scintillation of pulsars are analyzed. Comparison between theory and the observational data shows that two types of spectra for electron density fluctuations are realized in the interstellar medium: pure power law and piecewise with a break. The distribution of turbulent plasma in the Galaxy has a three component structure. Component A is diffuse and it is distributed outside of the spiral arms of the Galaxy. Component BI is cloudy and associated with Galactic arms. Component BII is extremely nonuniform and associated with HII regions and supernova remnants. The origin of the interstellar plasma turbulence is considered, and possible sources of turbulent energy are discussed. The contribution of supernova bursts in the interstellar gas ionization and generation of turbulence are analyzed among other factors.

Pulsar scintillation measurements from the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) are used to investigate the distribution of scattering in the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM; region of ≲ 1 kpc of the Sun), specifically the region in and around the Local Bubble. A 3-component model, where the Solar neighborhood is surrounded by a shell of enhanced plasma turbulence, is proposed for the LISM. Further, the Ooty data, along with those from Parkes and other telescopes are used for investigating the distribution of scattering towards the nearby Loop I Superbubble.

The radio luminosities of pulsars are given as functions of their period and the time variation of the period. The parameters of that dependence are calculated and independent distances are determined for pulsars. The average electron densities toward the pulsars are determined from the known dispersion measures. The results obtained are used to study the large-scale electron density distribution in the Galaxy. The distribution maximum lies in the vicinity of the Sagittarius spiral arm. The electron density falls off exponentially in the regions between spiral arms.

The large scale magnetic fields of our Galaxy have been mostly revealed by rotation measures (RMs) of pulsars and extragalactic radio sources. In the disk of our Galaxy, the average field strength over a few kpc scale is about 1.8 μG, while the total field, including the random fields on smaller scales, has a strength of about 5 μG. The local regular field, if it is part of the large scale field of a bisymmetric form, has a pitch angle of about −8°. There are at least three, and perhaps five, field reversals from the Norma arm to the outer skirt of our Galaxy.

This is a brief review of investigations of AGNs by the interplanetary scintillation method made in Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory.

IPS observations have recently begun at Miyun Station, Beijing Astronomical Observatory. This paper briefly describes the radio telescope at Miyun Station, discusses the observation and the data reduction procedures, and presents the preliminary results of observations on IPS source 3C48.

We present synthesis imaging of scatter-broadening of radio sources carried out using the Very Large Array (VLA) at six radio frequencies during the period of solar minimum. Three compact radio sources were observed from 2 to 16 solar radii around the sun. The data indicate highly anisotropic scattering. The scatter-broadening was estimated from the area of the scattered image and was found to be factor of two lower and orientation of magnetic fields was closer to the radial direction. Present observations confirm the variation of scatter-broadening with solar elongation.

It is suggested that the development of the SKA will drastically change the face of radio astronomy in the 21 st Century. A FAST-style SKA would admit observations of low contrast features, and would be the best design for studying the ‘dark ages’ of the Universe (x » 1) where sub-arcmin total power instruments can usefully be employed. To date there have been no proposals for post-SKA, billion square-metra instruments; we speculate that mobile communication systems can be used. In the very distant future, SKA multi-beam systems could be used to collect signals reflected by Solar system bodies such as the asteroid belt.

The next generation radio telescope being planned is the Square Kilometer Array (SKA): an international project which is currently in the research and development phase. Australia is one of the partner countries in the SKA consortium; here I describe some of the SKA research being undertaken in Australia.