MG12 - Talk detail
 

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Abstract

In search of fast-spinning pulsars in compact binary systems

"Recycled", millisecond pulsars in compact binary systems have provided unparalleled strong-field tests of gravity. The future of such tests relies not only on continued precision timing of known binary pulsars, but also on the discovery of new systems, whose properties may make them even more well-suited for use as natural laboratories for studying gravity. Furthermore, there exists the exciting prospect of using an ensemble of millisecond pulsars, spread over the sky, as a timing array to make the first detection of gravitational waves. To be successful, this likely requires the discovery of more systems which can be use as ultra-stable clocks. I will review the currently known population of millisecond pulsars, and will highlight recent discoveries made in a number of surveys with, e.g., the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes. I will also comment on the prospects for expanding the known population in the near future and for discovering key new systems.

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