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The thermal emission of strongly magnetized neutron-star atmospheres isthought to be highly polarized. However, because of the different orientationsof the magnetic field over the surface of the neutron star (NS), it is commonlyassumed that the net observed polarization will be significantly reduced as thepolarization from different regions will cancel each other. We show that thebirefringence of the magnetized QED vacuum decouples the polarization modes inthe magnetosphere; therefore, the direction of the polarization follows thedirection of the magnetic field up to a large distance from the stellarsurface. At this distance, the rays that leave the surface and are destined forour detectors pass through only a small solid angle; consequently, thepolarization direction of the emission originating in different regions willtend to align together. The net observed polarization of the thermal radiationof NSs should therefore be very large. Measurement of this polarization will bethe first direct evidence of the birefringence of the magnetized vacuum due toQED and a direct probe of behavior of the vacuum at magnetic fields of order ofand above the critical QED field of 4.4 x 10 13 G. The large observablepolarization will also help us learn more about the atmospheric properties ofNSs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, minor changes to reflect accepted versio

QED and the high polarization of the thermal radiation from neutron stars