Canon principal
Até onde eu sei, não há nem mesmo uma explicação para o funcionamento do sudário. É evidentemente uma função biológica (já que em DS9: The Abandoned , nós veja um jovem guerreiro Jem'Hadar que aprende a se esconder sem qualquer apoio externo ou a implantação de qualquer tecnologia), mas que resulta na roupa do usuário e também mantém itens invisíveis a olho nu. Isso implica strongmente que eles estão emitindo algum tipo de campo ou partículas como as partículas de camuflagem Suliban vistas em Ent: The Communicator . Além disso, simplesmente não sabemos.
EU Canon
Em Worlds of Star Trek: Espaço Profundo Nove, Volume 3 é explicitamente declarado que o A capacidade de ocultar é uma faceta da habilidade psíquica, que também (teoricamente) permite ao usuário visualizar remotamente os eventos que acontecem fora de sua linha de visão.
As Taran’atar stopped at Matheson’s order, he felt his mental grip on the image of the Founder begin to slip. Dimly aware of the door up ahead blocking the way, and of the lieutenant commander pushing a key into a slot in the bulkhead, he struggled to preserve his clear visualization of the Founder. He did not know how much longer he could sustain his efforts. Shrouding normally required a significant exertion of will, but far less, it turned out, than the task at hand. Taran’atar had never attempted what he did now, had not even known it possible until a few moments ago, having heard only unconfirmed rumors of Jem’Hadar who had utilized their shrouding capabilities for remote generation of images.
Activity up ahead penetrated his awareness. He plainly heard Matheson identify herself and request access to the defensive emplacement, distinctly felt vibrations through the decking as the door began to slide slowly into the bulkhead. Too far, he thought, intuitively understanding that his capacity to project a realistic image relied not only on his ability to concentrate, but also on his distance from the location to which he projected that image.