When
4 p.m., Oct. 26, 2015
Where
Kuiper Space Sciences 312
Dr. Norbert Wex
Senior Staff Scientist
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Precision Gravity Tests with Radio Pulsars
One hundred years ago, on November 25, Then the discovery of the first binary pulsar in 1974 opened up completely new possibilities for testing our understanding of gravity and spacetime. For the first time, the gravitational interaction of two strongly self-gravitating objects could be studied. Furthermore, the back reaction of gravitational waves on their emitting source could be examined, by this providing the first evidence for the existence of gravitational waves as predicted by GR.
To date there are a number of radio pulsars known, which can be utilized for precision test of gravity. Depending on their orbital properties and their companion, these pulsars provide tests for various different aspects of relativistic gravity. In particular, the so-called 'Double Pulsar' has more than lived up to our early expectations, and by now is the best "pulsar laboratory" for GR. Considerable effort also goes into the combination of the signals of the most stable pulsars in the sky. With such a 'pulsar timing array', pulsar astronomers hope to achieve a direct detection of nano-Hertz gravitational waves in the near future. Furthermore, ongoing searches for pulsars in orbit around the black hole in the center of our Galaxy could soon provide a unique possibility to probe the spacetime of a black hole, in particular when combined with other experiments, like the Event Horizon Telescope. The talk gives an introduction to gravity tests with pulsars, highlights some of the most important results, and gives a brief outlook into the future of this exciting field of experimental gravity.
TAP Colloquia
Senior Staff Scientist
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Precision Gravity Tests with Radio Pulsars
One hundred years ago, on November 25, Then the discovery of the first binary pulsar in 1974 opened up completely new possibilities for testing our understanding of gravity and spacetime. For the first time, the gravitational interaction of two strongly self-gravitating objects could be studied. Furthermore, the back reaction of gravitational waves on their emitting source could be examined, by this providing the first evidence for the existence of gravitational waves as predicted by GR.
To date there are a number of radio pulsars known, which can be utilized for precision test of gravity. Depending on their orbital properties and their companion, these pulsars provide tests for various different aspects of relativistic gravity. In particular, the so-called 'Double Pulsar' has more than lived up to our early expectations, and by now is the best "pulsar laboratory" for GR. Considerable effort also goes into the combination of the signals of the most stable pulsars in the sky. With such a 'pulsar timing array', pulsar astronomers hope to achieve a direct detection of nano-Hertz gravitational waves in the near future. Furthermore, ongoing searches for pulsars in orbit around the black hole in the center of our Galaxy could soon provide a unique possibility to probe the spacetime of a black hole, in particular when combined with other experiments, like the Event Horizon Telescope. The talk gives an introduction to gravity tests with pulsars, highlights some of the most important results, and gives a brief outlook into the future of this exciting field of experimental gravity.
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