Optical pulse-phased photopolarimetry of PSR B0656+14

We have observed the optical pulse profile of PSR B0656+14 in 10 phase bins at a high signal-to-noise ratio, and have measured the linear polarization pro. le over 30% of the pulsar period with some significance. The pulse pro. le is double-peaked, with a bridge of emission between the two peaks, similar to gamma-ray profiles observed in other pulsars. There is no detectable unpulsed flux, to a 1 sigma limit of 16% of the pulse-averaged flux. The emission in the bridge is highly (similar to100%) polarized, with a position angle sweep in excellent agreement with the prediction of the rotating vector model (RVM) as determined from radio polarization observations. We are able to account for the gross features of the optical light curve (i.e., the phase separation of the peaks) using both polar cap and outer gap models. Using the polar cap model, we are also able to estimate the height of the optical emission regions.