Three-Dimensional Statistics of Radio Polarimetry

The measurement of radio polarization may be regarded as a threedimensional statistical problem because the large photon densities at radio wavelengths allow the simultaneous detection of the three Stokes parameters which completely describe the radiation’s polarization. The statistical nature of the problem arises from the fluctuating instrumental noise, and possibly from fluctuations in the radiation’s polarization. A statistical model is used to derive the general, three-dimensional statistics that govern radio polarization measurements. The statistics are derived for specific cases of source-intrinsic polarization, with an emphasis on the orthogonal polarization modes in pulsar radio emission. The statistics are similar to those commonly found in other fields of the physical, biological, and Earth sciences. Given the highly variable linear and circular polarization of pulsar radio emission, an understanding of the three-dimensional statistics may be an essential prequisite to a thorough interpretation of pulsar polarization data. Subject headings: Methods: statistical – polarization – pulsars: general – radio continuum: general