A Double-Pulsar System - A Rare Laboratory for Relativistic Gravity and Plasma Physics
A. G. Lyne, M. Burgay, M. Kramer, A. Possenti, R. N. Manchester, F. Camilo, M. A. McLaughlin, D. R. Lorimer, N. D'Amico, B. C. Joshi, J. Reynolds, P. C. C. Freire
TL;DR
The detection of the 2.8-second pulsar J0737–3039B as the companion to the 23-millisecond pulsars in a highly relativistic double neutron star system, allowing unprecedented tests of fundamental gravitational physics.
Abstract
The clock-like properties of pulsars moving in the gravitational fields of their unseen neutron-star companions have allowed unique tests of general relativity and provided evidence for gravitational radiation. We report here the detection of the 2.8-sec pulsar J0737-3039B as the companion to the 23-ms pulsar J0737-3039A in a highly-relativistic double-neutron-star system, allowing unprecedented tests of fundamental gravitational physics. We observe a short eclipse of J0737-3039A by J0737-3039B and orbital modulation of the flux density and pulse shape of J0737-3039B, probably due to the influence of J0737-3039A's energy flux upon its magnetosphere. These effects will allow us to probe magneto-ionic properties of a pulsar magnetosphere.