Wave dispersion in gyrotropic relativistic pulsar plasmas.

Wave dispersion in a gyrotropic relativistic pulsar plasma is discussed. A pulsar plasma in general contains electrons, positrons, and possibly ions. Although electron-positron pairs are dominant in number density, charge neutrality is generally not satisfied and the gyrotropic terms need to be considered. These gyrotropic terms can lead to elliptical polarization that may be relevant for the observed circular polarization of pulsar radio emission. The wave dispersion and polarization are obtained numerically by calculating the response in terms of the three relativistic plasma dispersion functions. For waves propagating at an oblique angle (to the ambient magnetic field) a significant ellipticity requires the plasma to deviate substantially from the neutrality condition.