IXPE Polarizations of the Lighthouse Pulsar, Trail, and Filament

Abstract The Lighthouse pulsar (PSR J1101−6101) sports a bright X-ray trail and filament. The synchrotron emission from both structures is expected to be polarized, with electric vector position angle (EVPA) perpendicular to the magnetic field direction and polarization degree (PD) indicating the local degree of magnetic turbulence. We present a 1 Ms Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer observation of the Lighthouse complex. At the 99% confidence level, we detect the filament polarization with PD 55% ± 18% and EVPA indicating a magnetic field parallel to the filament axis. The large PD implies a turbulent magnetic field weaker than the background field, in conflict with some existing models. We also detect polarization from the pulsar and trail. The trail’s X-ray polarization is nearly orthogonal to the radio polarization, suggesting spatial separation between the X-ray- and radio-emitting leptons. The pulsar polarization is well fit by the rotating vector model.