Measurement of gravitational spin-orbit coupling in a binary-pulsar system

Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Oct 1;93(14):141101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.141101. Epub 2004 Sep 29.

Abstract

In relativistic gravity, a spinning pulsar will precess as it orbits a compact companion star. We have measured the effect of such precession on the average shape and polarization of the radiation from PSR B1534+12. We have also detected, with limited precision, special-relativistic aberration of the revolving pulsar beam due to orbital motion. Our observations fix the system geometry, including the misalignment between the spin and orbital angular momenta, and yield a measurement of the precession time scale consistent with the predictions of general relativity.