Gravity seminar - Norbert Wex Seminar

Before the 1970s, precision tests of gravity theories were constrained to the weak-field environment of the Solar system. Consequently, gravity tests probed just the first order corrections to Newtonian gravity, most notably the anomalous precession of Mercury and the deflection of light in the gravitational field of the Sun.

The discovery of the first binary pulsar by Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor in summer 1974, provided not only the first laboratory to test the gravitational-wave damping in a binary motion, but also gave us for the first time a possibility to investigate the interaction of strongly self-gravitating bodies. To date there are a number of binary pulsars known, which can be utilized to test different aspects of relativistic gravity. These "pulsar laboratories" not only allow for unique tests of specific gravity theories (general relativity, scalar-tensor gravity, TeVeS, etc.), but also provide different generic constraints on potential deviations of gravity from general relativity in the interaction and motion of strongly self-gravitating bodies.

In my talk I will give an introduction to gravity tests with radio pulsars, and summarize some of the most important results. Furthermore, I will give a brief outlook into the future of this exciting field of experimental gravity.