Abstract

ABSTRACTIn spite of the rich phenomenology of the polarization properties of radio pulsars, the rotating vector model (RVM) created 50 years ago remains the best method to determine the beam geometry of a pulsar. We apply the RVM to a sample of 854 radio pulsars observed with the MeerKAT telescope in order to draw conclusions about the population of pulsars as a whole. The main results are that (i) the geometrical interpretation of the position angle (PA) traverse is valid in the majority of the population, (ii) the pulsars for which the RVM fails tend to have a high fraction of circular polarization compared to linear polarization, (iii) emission heights obtained through both geometrical and relativistic methods show that the majority of pulsars must have emission heights less than 1000 km independent of the spin period, (iv) orthogonal mode jumps are seen in the PA traverse in about one third of the population. All these results are weakly dependent on the pulsar spin-down energy.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.