A Massive Pulsar in a Compact Relativistic Binary

Abstract

Many physically motivated extensions to general relativity (GR) predict significant deviations in the properties of spacetime surrounding massive neutron stars. We report the measurement of a 2.01 +/- 0.04 solar mass pulsar in a 2.46-hr orbit with a 0.172 +/- 0.003 solar mass white dwarf. The high pulsar mass and the compact orbit make this system a sensitive laboratory of a previously untested strong-field gravity regime. Thus far, the observed orbital decay agrees with GR, supporting its validity even for the extreme conditions present in the system. The resulting constraints on deviations support the use of GR-based templates for ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Additionally, the system strengthens recent constraints on the properties of dense matter and provides insight to binary stellar astrophysics and pulsar recycling.

This is the authors' version of the work. The definite version is published in Science Online, 26 April 2013, Vol: 340, Issue: 6131 doi: 10.1126/science.1233232. 54 pages, 18 figures, 4 tables

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• Tests of the nuclear equation of state and superfluid and superconducting gaps using the Cassiopeia A neutron star
• Exploring tidal effects of coalescing binary neutron stars in numerical relativity II: Longterm simulations
• Pulsars and Gravity
• Toward relativistic mean-field description of $\bar{\text{N}}$-nucleus reactions
• Efficiency of ETV diagrams as diagnostic tools for long-term period variations. II. Non-conservative mass transfer, and gravitational radiation
• Bayesian Analysis of Hybrid EoS based on Astrophysical Observational Data
• Self-consistent Green's functions with three-body forces
• From hypernuclei to the Inner Core of Neutron Stars: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study
• The mass and radii of strongly magnetized neutron stars