Wave propagation in pulsar magnetospheres

We study the propagation effects of radio waves in a pulsar magnetosphere, composed of relativistic electron-positron pair plasmas streaming along the magnetic field lines and corotating with the pulsar. We critically examine the various physical effects that can potentially influence the observed wave intensity and polarization. We numerically integrate the transfer equations for wave polarization in the rotating magnetosphere, taking account of all the propagation effects in a self-consistent manner. For typical magnetospheric plasma parameters produced by pair cascade, we find that the observed radio intensity and polarization profiles can be strongly modified by the propagation effects. Some applications of our results are discussed.