Single Dish Polarization Calibration

Abstract

Using the formalism of Hamaker et al. (1996), I derive a method for the polarization calibration of observations made with a single radio telescope. This method is particularly appropriate for observations of pulsars, where the sign and magnitude of the circular polarization are useful for understanding the emission processes at work. I apply the method to observations of PSR J1359-6038 made using the multibeam receiver on the Parkes radio telescope.