Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
We have monitored the 610 MHz flux density of 21 pulsars on a daily basis for five years. The flux density time series for these pulsars range from nearly constant for the most distant and heavily scattered pulsars to rapidly varying, saturated time series for more nearby pulsars. The measured stability of the flux density from the most distant pulsars (variations less than 5%) implies that the average radio emission from pulsars, before it has been affected by propagation through the ISM, is constant in strength over five years. The flux variations for 12 of the pulsars are consistent with a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum over a range of more than three orders of magnitude in scattering strength, with no detectable presence of an inner scale (si ≥ 107cm). The flux variations are greater than predicted by this model for five pulsars – including the Crab and Vela – but this group is consistent with a Kolmogorov spectrum and an inner scale of ∼ 1010cm.