Detection of relativistic orbital deformation from improved timing of PSR J1757−1854

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ID: 330081
2026
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Abstract
Abstract PSR J1757−1854, a 21.5 ms pulsar is a member of a highly relativistic double neutron star (DNS) system with a tight (4.4 hr), eccentric (e = 0.61) orbit. With extremely large gravitational wave luminosity and one of the fastest orbital decay rates of any known DNS system, it is ideal for testing general relativity (GR) in the strong-field regime. Here we present results from a high-precision timing campaign combining archival data from the Murriyang telescope and Green Bank Telescope (GBT) with new observations from the MeerKAT radio telescope and additional observations from the GBT. The extended baseline and superior sensitivity of MeerKAT have yielded substantial improvements to previously measured post-Keplerian parameters by a factor of around ~2 or more. We report the first detection of relativistic angular deformation, δθ in this system, making PSR J1757−1854 only the third DNS system for which δθ has been measured, achieved here in just 9 yrs compared to the decades of timing required for both the double pulsar and the Hulse-Taylor binary. We demonstrate how δθ can be used to constrain the spin-orbit geometry of the system, ruling out two of the four geometric solutions previously identified, while remaining consistent with GR. We also evaluate higher-order contributions to the periastron advance $\dot{\omega}$, including the second post-Newtonian correction and the Lense-Thirring term, and show that these have a measurable systematic effect on the inferred total system mass. The observed orbital period derivative, $\dot{P}_\mathrm{b}$ remains consistent with the GR prediction for gravitational-wave damping across a wide range of plausible distances.
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Authors Jaikhomba Singha, V. Venkatraman Krishnan, Marisa Geyer, Victoria Blackmon, P C C Freire, Norbert Wex, M. A. McLaughlin, M. Kramer, Amanda Weltman, D. J. Champion, M. Bailes, Sarah Buchner, Fernando Camilo, Andrea Possenti, M. Serylak
Journal monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stag1861
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1861
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