The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey – XIII. PSR J1757−1854, the most accelerated binary pulsar

Abstract We report the discovery of PSR J1757−1854, a 21.5-ms pulsar in a highly-eccentric, 4.4-h orbit with a neutron star (NS) companion. PSR J1757−1854 exhibits some of the most extreme relativistic parameters of any known pulsar, including the strongest relativistic effects due to gravitational-...

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Published in:	Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters 2018-03, Vol.475 (1), p.L57-L61
Main Authors:	Cameron, A D, Champion, D J, Kramer, M, Bailes, M, Barr, E D, Bassa, C G, Bhandari, S, Bhat, N D R, Burgay, M, Burke-Spolaor, S, Eatough, R P, Flynn, C M L, Freire, P C C, Jameson, A, Johnston, S, Karuppusamy, R, Keith, M J, Levin, L, Lorimer, D R, Lyne, A G, McLaughlin, M A, Ng, C, Petroff, E, Possenti, A, Ridolfi, A, Stappers, B W, van Straten, W, Tauris, T M, Tiburzi, C, Wex, N
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
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Summary:	Abstract We report the discovery of PSR J1757−1854, a 21.5-ms pulsar in a highly-eccentric, 4.4-h orbit with a neutron star (NS) companion. PSR J1757−1854 exhibits some of the most extreme relativistic parameters of any known pulsar, including the strongest relativistic effects due to gravitational-wave damping, with a merger time of 76 Myr. Following a 1.6-yr timing campaign, we have measured five post-Keplerian parameters, yielding the two component masses (mp = 1.3384(9) M⊙ and mc = 1.3946(9) M⊙) plus three tests of general relativity, which the theory passes. The larger mass of the NS companion provides important clues regarding the binary formation of PSR J1757−1854. With simulations suggesting 3-σ measurements of both the contribution of Lense–Thirring precession to the rate of change of the semimajor axis and the relativistic deformation of the orbit within ∼7–9 yr, PSR J1757−1854 stands out as a unique laboratory for new tests of gravitational theories.
ISSN:	1745-3925 1745-3933