Related papers: Small-eccentricity binary pulsars and relativistic…
The first ever double pulsar, discovered by our team a few months ago, consists of two pulsars, one with period of 22 ms and the other with a period of 2.7 s. This binary system with a period of only 2.4-hr provides a truly unique…
Gravitational waves (GWs) emitted by binary sources are interesting signals for testing gravity on cosmological scales since they allow measurements of the luminosity distance. When followed by electromagnetic counterparts, in particular,…
The recent discovery of a population of eccentric (e ~ 0.1) millisecond pulsar (MSP) binaries with low-mass white dwarf companions in the Galactic field represents a challenge to evolutionary models that explain MSP formation as recycling:…
We present a Bayesian data analysis pipeline for testing GR using gravitational wave signals from coalescing compact binaries, and in particular binary neutron stars. In this study, we investigate its performance when sources with spins are…
We discuss the formation of pulsars with massive companions in eccentric orbits. We demonstrate that the probability for a non-recycled radio pulsar to have a white dwarf as a companion is comparable to that of having an old neutron star as…
This contribution summarizes, as of early 2008, the observational and theoretical understanding of the physics, and emission properties of two Double Degenerate Binaries with the shortest orbital period known to date. In particular, the…
The statistical properties of planets in binaries were investigated. Any difference to planets orbiting single stars can shed light on the formation and evolution of planetary systems. As planets were found around components of binaries…
Binary millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to have descended from low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), which have experienced substantial mass transfer and tidal circularization. Therefore, they should have very circular orbits. However,…
We study the pulsar timing, focusing on the time delay induced by the gravitational field of the binary systems. In particular, we study the gravito-magnetic correction to the Shapiro time delay in terms of Keplerian and post-Keplerian…
We present 594 radial velocity measurements for 71 white dwarfs obtained during our search for binary white dwarfs and not reported elsewhere. We identify three excellent candidate binaries, which require further observations to confirm our…
Coherent, periodic radio emission from pulsars has been widely interpreted as evidence of neutron stars as strongly magnetized compact objects. In recent years, radio pulses have also been detected from white dwarfs (WDs) in tight binary…
Tests of Einstein's general theory of relativity have mostly been carried out in weak gravitational fields where the space-time curvature effects are first-order deviations from Newton's theory. Binary pulsars provide a means of probing the…
Before the 1970s, precision tests for gravity theories were constrained to the weak gravitational fields of the Solar system. Hence, only the weak-field slow-motion aspects of relativistic celestial mechanics could be investigated. Testing…
Scalar-tensor theories are among the simplest extensions of general relativity. In theories with light scalars, deviations from Einstein's theory of gravity are determined by the scalar mass m_s and by a Brans-Dicke-like coupling parameter…
Double white dwarfs could be important sources for space based gravitational wave detectors like OMEGA and LISA. We use population synthesis to predict the current population of double white dwarfs in the Galaxy and the gravitational waves…
The sensitivity of the SKA enables a number of tests of theories of gravity. A Galactic Census of pulsars will discover most of the active pulsars in the Galaxy beamed toward us. In this census will almost certainly be pulsar-black hole…
The discovery of pulsations in some low-mass white dwarfs, including the so-called extremely low-mass white dwarfs, has opened the unprecedented opportunity of probing the internal structure of these ancient stars. We present a detailed…
Abridged. White dwarf stars are the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, including our Sun. The study of white dwarfs has potential applications to different fields of astrophysics. In particular, they can be used as…
White dwarfs are a class of stars with unique physical properties. They present many challenging problems whose solution requires the application of advanced theories of dense matter, state-of-the-art experimental techniques, and extensive…
We describe our programme to identify and analyse binary stars among the bright subdwarfs selected in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) survey. Radial velocity time-series helped us identify subdwarfs with low-mass or compact stellar…