Abstract A generic interpretation of pulsar radio emission that does not rely on the identification of a specific emission mechanism is explored. Coherence is quantified in terms of a coherence factor, which implies a maximum brightness temperature; the possible significance of Poincaré invariants is pointed out, and the potential use of higher order moments of the intensity to measure the coherence is discussed. The effect of the Lorentz boost between the plasma rest frame and the pulsar frame, the suppression of emission at low frequencies due to curvature of the field lines, and a natural frequency of the pulsar plasma are incorporated into a generic model for pulsar emission, and three illustrative examples of its possible use are given.
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