Optical polarization of the Crab-like supernova remnant 0540-693 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The linear optical (V band) polarization in the nebula surrounding the LMC pulsar 0540 - 693 is measured, producing a positive result (integrated over the nebula) of P = 5.6 + or - 1.0 percent, oriented at an angle 79 + or - 5 deg east of north. The technique corrects for but does not determine the interstellar polarization, which may be of order 2 percent. This result is similar to the integrated optical polarization of the Crab Nebula and is strong confirmation of a synchrotron origin for the 0540 nebular emission. 12 refs.