Polarization of Intrabinary Shock Emission in Spider Pulsars

Abstract

In so-called spider pulsars, the X-ray band is dominated by intrabinary shock (IBS) synchrotron emission. While the double-peaked X-ray light curves from these shocks have been well characterized in several spider systems (both black widows and redbacks), the polarization of this emission is yet to be studied. Motivated by the new polarization capability of the Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer and the confirmation of highly ordered magnetic fields in pulsar wind nebulae, we model the IBS polarization by employing two potential magnetic field configurations: toroidal magnetic fields imposed by the preshock pulsar wind, and tangential shock-generated fields that follow the postshock flow. We find that if IBSs host ordered magnetic fields, the synchrotron X-rays from spider binaries can display a high degree of polarization (≳50%), while the variation in polarization angle provides a good probe of the binary geometry and the magnetic field structure. Our results encourage observational polarization studies of spider pulsars that can distinguish the proposed magnetic models and that constrain the unique properties of these systems better.