Diffractive Interstellar Scintillation of the Quasar J1819+3845 at 21cm

We report the discovery of fast, frequency-dependent intensity variations from the scintillating intra-day variable quasar J1819+3845 at a wavelength of 21cm which resemble diffractive interstellar scintillations observed in pulsars. The timescale (down to 20 min) and the bandwidth (frequency decorrelation bandwidth of 160 MHz) of the observed variations jointly imply that the component of the source exhibiting this scintillation must possess a brightness temperature well in excess of the inverse Compton limit. A specific model in which both the source and scintillation pattern are isotropic implies a brightness temperature 0.5 x 10^13 z_{pc} K, where previous estimates place the distance to the scattering medium in the range z_{pc}=4-12pc, yielding a minimum brightness temperature >20 times the inverse Compton limit. An independent estimate of the screen distance using the 21cm scintillation properties alone indicates a minimum screen distance of z approx 40pc and a brightness temperature above 2 x 10^14 K. There is no evidence for anisotropy in the scattering medium or source from the scintillation characteristics, but these estimates may be reduced by a factor comparable to the axial ratio if the source is indeed elongated.
Comment: A&A in press, 18 pages, 9 figs