Physical Society Colloquium

Precision tests of General Relativity

Michael Kramer

University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory

General relativity (GR) is a theory of gravity that describes how mass determines the curvature of space-time and how the curved space-time determines the movement of mass. Since gravity is a relatively weak source, one usually needs to involve large, astronomical bodies in order to detect relativistic effects and to test the predictive power of GR. While experiments made in Solar System often provide accurate tests, they are all conducted in the weak gravitational field of the Sun. However, using compact objects like neutron stars and black holes, strong gravitational fields can be probed.

The most precise tests of GR in the strong-field regime are provided by binary pulsars, in particular by the unique double pulsar system. In my talk, I will concentrate on the double pulsar results, but will also highlight tests performed with the help of other binary pulsars and techniques involving other observations of neutron stars or compact binary systems.