SIMBAD references

The complete polarization characteristics of individual pulses of PSR B0355+54 are presented at the highest frequency where single pulse observations have ever been conducted. This currently closest approach to the deepest layers of the pulsar magnetosphere reveals that the weak pulses emitted from such a region are often strongly polarized, as expected from a large number of coherent sources emitting curvature radiation. In contrast, the strong pulses exhibit a much lower degree of polarization. We searched for the possible causes of depolarization, namely, competition among different emission modes, orthogonally polarized emission and subpulse phase shifts. The results indicate that the depolarization observed primarily among the strong pulses is an intrinsic characteristic of their emission process.