Related papers: Comparing solar-system, binary-pulsar, and gravita…
This talk is based on my work in collaboration with Thibault Damour since 1991. Unified theories, like superstrings, predict the existence of scalar partners to the graviton. Such theories of gravity can be very close to general relativity…
Binary systems comprising at least one neutron star contain strong gravitational field regions and thereby provide a testing ground for strong-field gravity. Two types of data can be used to test the law of gravity in compact binaries:…
This talk reviews the constraints imposed by binary-pulsar data on gravity theories, focusing on ``tensor-scalar'' ones which are the best motivated alternatives to general relativity. We recall that binary-pulsar tests are qualitatively…
This talk reviews the constraints imposed by binary-pulsar data on gravity theories, and notably on "scalar-tensor" theories which are the most natural alternatives to general relativity. Because neutron stars have a strong gravitational…
Some recently discovered nonperturbative strong-field effects in tensor-scalar theories of gravitation are interpreted as a scalar analog of ferromagnetism: "spontaneous scalarization". This phenomenon leads to very significant deviations…
The best motivated alternatives to general relativity are scalar-tensor theories, in which the gravitational interaction is mediated by one or several scalar fields together with the usual graviton. The analysis of their various…
General relativity (GR) has been extensively tested in the solar system and in binary pulsars, but never in the strong-field, dynamical regime. Soon, gravitational-wave (GW) detectors like Advanced LIGO and eLISA will be able to probe this…
Tests of gravity are important to the development of our understanding of gravitation and spacetime. Binary pulsars provide a superb playground for testing gravity theories. In this chapter we pedagogically review the basics behind pulsar…
Over the last few years, a set of new results from pulsar timing has introduced much tighter constraints on violations of the strong equivalence principle (SEP), either via a direct verification of the universality of free fall for a pulsar…
We review the general relativistic theory of the motion, and of the timing, of binary systems containing compact objects (neutron stars or black holes). Then we indicate the various ways one can use binary pulsar data to test the…
The discovery of the first pulsar in a binary star system, the Hulse--Taylor pulsar, 50 years ago opened up an entirely new field of experimental gravity. For the first time it was possible to investigate strong-field and radiative aspects…
The confrontation between general relativity (and its theoretically most plausible deviations) and experimental or observational results is summarized. Some discussion is devoted to the various methodologies used in confronting theory and…
Pulsars of very different types - isolated objects, and binaries with short- and long-period orbits, white-dwarf and neutron-star companions - provide the means to test both the predictions of general relativity and the viability of…
General relativity offers a classical description to gravitation and spacetime, and is a cornerstone for modern physics. It has passed a number of empirical tests with flying colours, mostly in the weak-gravity regimes, but nowadays also in…
Binary pulsars are a powerful tool for probing strong gravity that still outperforms direct gravitational wave observations in a number of directions due to the remarkable accuracy of the pulsar timing. They can constrain very precisely the…
Gravitational waves provide a new probe into the strong-field regime of gravity. It is thus essential to identify the predictions of General Relativity on the nature of the two-body problem, and to contrast them to alternative theories.…
The recent LIGO detection of gravitational waves from black-hole binaries offers the exciting possibility of testing gravitational theories in the previously inaccessible strong-field, highly relativistic regime. While the LIGO detections…
Pulsars in close binary systems have provided some of the most stringent tests of strong-field gravity to date. The pulsar--white-dwarf binary system J1141-6545 is specifically interesting due to its gravitational asymmetry which makes it…
Gravitational-wave observations of coalescing binary systems allow for novel tests of the strong-field regime of gravity. Using data from the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center (GWOSC) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, we place the first…
The extreme-gravity collisions of binaries with one black hole and one neutron star provide for excellent tests of general relativity. We here study how well one can constrain theories beyond general relativity with additional scalar fields…