Gravitational Radiation from Compact Binary Pulsars

Abstract

An outstanding question in modern Physics is whether general relativity (GR) is a complete description of gravity among bodies at macroscopic scales. Currently, the best experiments supporting this hypothesis are based on high-precision timing of radio pulsars. This chapter reviews recent advances in the field with a focus on compact binary millisecond pulsars with white-dwarf (WD) companions. These systems - if modeled properly - provide an unparalleled test ground for physically motivated alternatives to GR that deviate significantly in the strong-field regime. Recent improvements in observational techniques and advances in our understanding of WD interiors have enabled a series of precise mass measurements in such systems. These masses, combined with high-precision radio timing of the pulsars, result to stringent constraints on the radiative properties of gravity, qualitatively very different from what was available in the past.

Short review chapter to appear in "Gravitational Wave Astrophysics" by Springer-Verlag, edited by Carlos F. Sopuerta; v3: a few major corrections and updated references. Comments are welcomed

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Cited by in corpus (5)

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• GRB 090510: a genuine short-GRB from a binary neutron star coalescing into a Kerr-Newman black hole
• The equivalence principle for a plane gravitational wave in torsion based and non-metricity based teleparallel equivalents of general relativity
• A Search for Pulsar Companions Around Low-Mass White Dwarfs