SMuK 2023 – scientific programme
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GR: Fachverband Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie
GR 16: Experimental Tests
GR 16.3: Talk
Friday, March 24, 2023, 11:40–12:00, HSZ/0401
Taking gravity tests with the Double Pulsar to higher orders — •Huanchen Hu1, Michael Kramer1,2, Norbert Wex1, and David J. Champion1 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany — 2Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Relativistic binary pulsars are excellent testbeds for probing strong-field aspects of gravity. In particular, the Double Pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B offers a wealth of relativistic effects that can be studied in depth. Pulsar timing observations with MeerKAT and the future Square Kilometre Array (SKA) can bring the accuracy of these gravity tests to an unprecedented level, as well as enable precision tests of next-to-leading order (NLO) effects in the orbital motion and signal propagation. In this talk, I will present the timing results of PSR J0737-3039A based on 3-yr MeerKAT observations with a focus on the NLO signal propagation effects. These include the retardation effect due to the movement of pulsar B and the deflection of the signal of A by the gravitational field of B. Moreover, future observations with MeerKAT and the SKA are expected to provide one of the first measurements of the moment of inertia of a neutron star, hence an important complementary constraint on the equation of state at ultranuclear density. Finally, other prospects from future observations will be also demonstrated.