We study the propagation of polarization light through the magnetosphere ofneutron stars. At intermediate frequencies (the optical through the infrared),both the birefringence induced by the plasma and by quantumelectrodynamicsinfluence the observation polarization of radiation from the surface of theneutron star. Because these two processes compete in this regime, we find thatpolarization observations can constrain the properties of the neutron-starmagnetosphere, specifically the total charge density. We calculate both thephase-resolved and the phase-averaged polarization signatures induced bymagnetospheric birefringence.
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