A 2.1 M⊙ pulsar measured by relativistic orbital decay

被引:255
作者
Nice, DJ [1 ]
Splaver, EM
Stairs, IH
Löhmer, O
Jessner, A
Kramer, M
Cordes, JM
机构
[1] Princeton Univ, Dept Phys, Princeton, NJ 08544 USA
[2] Univ British Columbia, Dept Phys & Astron, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
[3] Max Planck Inst Radioastron, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
[4] Univ Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observ, Macclesfield SK11 9DL, Cheshire, England
[5] Cornell Univ, Dept Astron, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[6] Cornell Univ, NAIC, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
关键词
binaries : general; gravitation; pulsars : individual ( PSR 0751+1807);
D O I
10.1086/497109
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
PSR J0751+1807 is a millisecond pulsar in a circular 6 hr binary system with a helium white dwarf secondary. Through high-precision pulse timing measurements with the Arecibo and Effelsberg radio telescopes, we have detected the decay of its orbit due to emission of gravitational radiation. This is the first detection of the relativistic orbital decay of a low-mass, circular binary pulsar system. The measured rate of change in orbital period, corrected for acceleration biases, is P-b = (-6.4 +/- 0.9) x 10(-14). Interpreted in the context of general relativity, and combined with measurement of Shapiro delay, it implies a pulsar mass of 2.1 +/- 0.2 M-circle dot, the most massive pulsar measured. This adds to the emerging trend toward relatively high neutron star masses in neutron star-white dwarf binaries. In addition, there is some evidence for an inverse correlation between pulsar mass and orbital period in these systems. We consider alternatives to the general relativistic analysis of the data, and we use the pulsar timing data to place limits on violations of the strong equivalence principle.
引用
收藏
页码:1242 / 1249
页数:8
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