A post-Keplerian parameter to test gravito-magnetic effects in binary pulsar systems

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 parameters, and we introduce a new post-Keplerian parameter which is related to the intrinsic angular momentum of the stars. Furthermore, we evaluate the magnitude of these effects for the binary pulsar systems known so far. The expected magnitude is indeed small, but the effect is important per se.Comment: 6 pages, RevTeX, 1 eps figure, accepted for publication in Physical Review D; references adde

The Binary Pulsar PSR 1908+00 in NGC 6760

We present orbital parameters of the 3.6 ms binary pulsar 1908 +00 in the globular cluster NGC 6760. The orbital period is 3.4 hr, and the mass function is 3 x 10^6 M_⊙ , implying a minimum companion mass of 0.018 M_⊙ . The companion is probably degenerate; and if it is hydrogen, it is close to overflowing its Roche lobe. The only other millisecond binary radio pulsar systems with orbital period < 10 hr and mass function below 10-3 M_⊙ are the eclipsing pulsar 1957+20 and 1744-24A, and the very low mass binary 0021-721. These pulsars are ablating their companions and may be the progenitors of isolated millisecond pulsars. PSR 1908+00 shows no evidence for long-duration eclipses as are seen in 1744-24A, but short-duration eclipses as in 1957 + 20 are not excluded

A Modified Scalar-Tensor-Vector Gravity Theory and the Constraint on its Parameters

A gravity theory called scalar-tensor-vector gravity (STVG) has been recently developed and succeeded in solar system, astrophysical and cosmological scales without dark matter [J. W. Moffat, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03, 004 (2006)]. However, two assumptions have been used: (i) $B(r)=A^{-1}(r)$, where $B(r)$ and $A(r)$ are $g_{00}$ and $g_{rr}$ in the Schwarzschild coordinates (static and spherically symmetric); (ii) scalar field $G=Const.$ in the solar system. These two assumptions actually imply that the standard parametrized post-Newtonian parameter $\gamma=1$. In this paper, we relax these two assumptions and study STVG further by using the post-Newtonian (PN) approximation approach. With abandoning the assumptions, we find $\gamma\neq1$ in general cases of STVG. Then, a version of modified STVG (MSTVG) is proposed through introducing a coupling function of scalar field G: $\theta(G)$. We have derived the metric and equations of motion (EOM) in 1PN for general matter without specific equation of state and $N$ point masses firstly. Subsequently, the secular periastron precession $\dot{\omega}$ of binary pulsars in harmonic coordinates is given. After discussing two PPN parameters ($\gamma$ and $\beta$) and two Yukawa parameters ($\alpha$ and $\lambda$), we use $\dot{\omega}$ of four binary pulsars data (PSR B1913+16, PSR B1534+12, PSR J0737-3039 and PSR B2127+11C) to constrain the Yukawa parameters for MSTVG: $\lambda=(3.97\pm0.01)\times10^{8}$m and $\alpha=(2.40\pm0.02)\times10^{-8}$ if we fix $|2\gamma-\beta-1|=0$.Comment: 39 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PR

Coalescing Binary Neutron Stars

Coalescing compact binaries with neutron star or black hole components provide the most promising sources of gravitational radiation for detection by the LIGO/VIRGO/GEO/TAMA laser interferometers now under construction. This fact has motivated several different theoretical studies of the inspiral and hydrodynamic merging of compact binaries. Analytic analyses of the inspiral waveforms have been performed in the Post-Newtonian approximation. Analytic and numerical treatments of the coalescence waveforms from binary neutron stars have been performed using Newtonian hydrodynamics and the quadrupole radiation approximation. Numerical simulations of coalescing black hole and neutron star binaries are also underway in full general relativity. Recent results from each of these approaches will be described and their virtues and limitations summarized.Comment: Invited Topical Review paper to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity, 35 pages, including 5 figure

Much Ado About Nothing: Several Large-Area Surveys for Radio Pulsars From Arecibo

We report surveyed regions and flux limits for several large-area surveys at 430 MHz for radio pulsars using the 305 m reflector at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The surveys used integration times between 8 and 67 s and covered a total area of ~515 square degrees. No previously undiscovered pulsars were detected in these regions, although all previously known pulsars were detected. The nondetection of new pulsars places constraints on the population of low-luminosity pulsars and must be taken into account in estimates of the local density of millisecond pulsars

Characterization of a Legionella pneumophila gene encoding a lipoprotein antigen

A prominent 19kDa surface antigen of Legionella pneumophila , cloned in Escherichia coli , was found to be intimately associated with peptidoglycan. The DNA region encoding this antigen was mapped on an 11.9kb plasmid by means of deletion analysis and transposon mutagenesis. PhoA + gene fusions, generated by Tn phoA insertions into this region, confirmed the presence of a gene encoding a secreted protein. PhoA + transposon insertions were also associated with loss of the 19 kDa antigen in immunoassay s using a monoclonal antibody (mAb1E9) and the replacement of the 19kDa antigen with larger fusion proteins in immunoblots using Legionella immune serum. A 1540bp PstI fragment carrying the gene was sequenced, and the open reading frame encoding the antigen was identified. The gene encodes a polypeptide 176 amino acid residues long and 18913Da in size. The presence of a signal sequence of 22 amino acids with a consensus sequence for cleavage by signal peptidase II indicates that the antigen is a lipoprotein, and striking similarity with peptidoglycan-associated lipoproteins (PALs) from E. coli (51% amino acid homology) and Haemophilus influenzae (55% homology) is noted. We conclude that the 19kDa antigen of L. pneumophila is the structural equivalent of the PAL found in other Gram-negative species and suggest that its post-translational acylation may explain its potency as an immunogen.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75712/1/j.1365-2958.1991.tb00824.x.pd