Strong-field Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar. (arXiv:2112.06795v1 [astro-ph.HE])

Strong-field Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar. (arXiv:2112.06795v1 [astro-ph.HE])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kramer_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Kramer</a> (1, 2), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Stairs_I/0/1/0/all/0/1">I. H. Stairs</a> (3), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Manchester_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. N. Manchester</a> (4), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Wex_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">N. Wex</a> (1), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Deller_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. T. Deller</a> (5,6), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Coles_W/0/1/0/all/0/1">W. A. Coles</a> (7), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ali_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Ali</a> (1, 8), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Burgay_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Burgay</a> (9), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Camilo_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Camilo</a> (10), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Cognard_I/0/1/0/all/0/1">I. Cognard</a> (11, 12), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Damour_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">T. Damour</a> (13), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Desvignes_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">G. Desvignes</a> (14, 1), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ferdman_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. D. Ferdman</a> (15), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Freire_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">P. C. C. Freire</a> (1), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Grondin_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Grondin</a> (3, 16), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Guillemot_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">L. Guillemot</a>, (11, 12), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Hobbs_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">G. B. Hobbs</a> (4), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Janssen_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">G. Janssen</a> (17, 18), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Karuppusamy_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. Karuppusamy</a> (1), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lorimer_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">D. R. Lorimer</a> (19), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lyne_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. G. Lyne</a> (2), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+McKee_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. W. McKee</a> (1, 20), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+McLaughlin_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. McLaughlin</a> (19), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Muench_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">L. E. Muench</a> (1), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Perera_B/0/1/0/all/0/1">B. B. P. Perera</a> (21), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Pol_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">N. Pol</a> (19, 22), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Possenti_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. Possenti</a> (9, 23), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Sarkissian_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. Sarkissian</a> (4), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Stappers_B/0/1/0/all/0/1">B. W. Stappers</a> (2), <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Theureau_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">G. Theureau</a> (11, 12, 24) ((1) Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany, (2) Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom, (3) Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, (4) Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO Space and Astronomy, Australia, (5) Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia, (6) ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Australia, (7) Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at San Diego, USA, (8) Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada, (9) INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Italy, (10) South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, South Africa, (11) Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace LPC2E CNRS-Universite d'Orleans, France, (12) Station de Radioastronomie de Nancay, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS/INSU, France, (13) Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Bures-sur-Yvette, France, 14 LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Universite PSL, CNRS, Universite de Paris, France, (15) Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, (16) David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Canada, (17) ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, (18) Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, (19) Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA, (20) Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Canada, (21) Arecibo Observatory, University of Central Florida, Arecibo, USA, (22) Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA, (23) Universita di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Fisica, Italy, (24) Laboratoire Univers et Theories LUTh, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS/INSU, Universite Paris Diderot, Meudon, France)

Continued observations of the Double Pulsar, PSR J0737-3039A/B, consisting of
two radio pulsars (A and B) that orbit each other with a period of 2.45hr in a
mildly eccentric (e=0.088) binary system, have led to large improvements in the
measurement of relativistic effects in this system. With a 16-yr data span, the
results enable precision tests of theories of gravity for strongly
self-gravitating bodies and also reveal new relativistic effects that have been
expected but are now observed for the first time. These include effects of
light propagation in strong gravitational fields which are currently not
testable by any other method. We observe retardation and aberrational
light-bending that allow determination of the pulsar’s spin direction. In
total, we have detected seven post-Keplerian (PK) parameters, more than for any
other binary pulsar. For some of these effects, the measurement precision is so
high that for the first time we have to take higher-order contributions into
account. These include contributions of A’s effective mass loss (due to
spin-down) to the observed orbital period decay, a relativistic deformation of
the orbit, and effects of the equation of state of super-dense matter on the
observed PK parameters via relativistic spin-orbit coupling. We discuss the
implications of our findings, including those for the moment of inertia of
neutron stars. We present the currently most precise test of general
relativity’s (GR’s) quadrupolar description of gravitational waves, validating
GR’s prediction at a level of $1.3 times 10^{-4}$ (95% conf.). We demonstrate
the utility of the Double Pulsar for tests of alternative theories by focusing
on two specific examples and discuss some implications for studies of the
interstellar medium and models for the formation of the Double Pulsar. Finally,
we provide context to other types of related experiments and prospects for the
future.

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