Polarization measurements of five pulsars with interpulses

Abstract

We present polarization observations of five pulsars whose profiles exhibit two distinct emission regions separated by close to 180° of longitude. We fitted the position angle of the linear polarization using the rotating vector model and convincingly show that all the pulsars have the angle between their magnetic and rotation axes close to 90°. The simplest interpretation of the results is that we see 'main pulse' emission from one pole and 'interpulse' emission from the opposite pole. We have attempted to produce emission maps of the magnetosphere above the polar caps for each pulsar and find that the maps support the view that the emission region in pulsars is complex, even when the profile appears simple. For three pulsars, we can derive emission heights and polar maps which are consistent with emission regions located symmetrically about the magnetic axis and confined to the open field lines. For two pulsars, we find that either the emission arises from 'closed' field lines or that the profiles are highly asymmetric with respect to the magnetic axis. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.