BN1 - Compact Binaries and Strong-Field Tests of Gravity |
|
Speaker |
Breton, Rene |
|
Coauthors |
Kaspi, Victoria, M.; Kramer, Michael; McLaughlin, Maura, M.; Stairs, Ingrid, H. |
| Talk Title |
Spin Precession In The (No-longer) Double Pulsar |
|
Abstract |
PSR J0737-3039A/B is the first and only pulsar-pulsar system to ever be discovered. Its 2.4-hr orbit makes it the most relativistic double neutron star binary known so far and as a consequence it is a formidable testbed for strong-field gravity. Unexpectedly, the double pulsar also provided the first quantitative measurement of geodetic precession from the study of unique radio eclipses of the ‘A’ pulsar by its companion as a consequence of the nearly perfect edge-on orbit. Spin precession of the companion, pulsar ‘B’, has now tilted its spin axis such that its radio beam no longer intercepts our line of sight — it was last seen in 2009. The disappearance of pulsar B does not prevent us from seeing pulsar A’s eclipses and hence we still possess a way of indirectly studying it. In this talk I will report on preliminary results from an extended study of the eclipses covering the period after which pulsar B disappeared. |
|
Talk view |
|
|
|
|