Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity passed (again) one of its most difficult space tests

Einstein’s theory of General Relativity was once again confirmed by passing another test in the universe. After watching a pair of neutron stars (pulsars) move around each other for 16 years curving spacetime, a large international team of astronomers concluded that the behavior of the two stars is consistent with Einstein’s theory. For more than a century, various scientific groups have tried to find fault with general relativity, but have failed, although their efforts will continue, as any crack in this theory will open new avenues in Physics.

The theory, published in 1915 bringing about a real revolution in physics, describes the effects of gravity on spacetime. If something has a very large mass – as in the case of pulsars – it curves space-time around it more than something with a smaller mass. This means that in neutron stars – which have terribly high matter densities and emit radio waves from their poles – light must be curved significantly around them, as photons are forced to follow curved spacetime, something that can be observed from Earth. In fact, when two pulsars “dance” around each other, then they accelerate and also emit gravitational waves (wrinkles of spacetime), which at the same time pushes their trajectory to shrink, as they gradually lose energy.

Scientists from Europe, Australia and the USA, led by Professor Michael Kramer of the German Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, who published the paper in the journal Physical Review, made multi-year observations (2003-2019). ) of the pulsar pair PSR J0737-3039A / B, located about 2,400 light-years from Earth. The two stars are so dense that although they have about 30% more mass than the Sun, their diameter does not exceed 24 kilometers.

The two neutron stars – estimated to eventually collide in 85 million years – complete one orbit around each other in just 147 minutes, moving at unimaginable speeds of up to a million kilometers per hour. At the same time the pulsars spin around their axis, one completing 44 revolutions per second, while the other, which is slower, one rotation every 2.8 seconds. Every time a pulsar rotates, a radio wave beam reaches the Earth, giving the impression that it is “pulsating” (hence its name).

Using seven terrestrial radio telescopes in different parts of our planet, scientists have found that pulsar radio pulses reach Earth later than expected, and this is because they are delayed by the large curvature of space-time of the two stars. Calculations have shown that the delay is 99.99% explained by Einstein’s theory of relativity.

“This is the most rigorous test of Einstein’s theory to date and sets the stage for future experiments in terms of accuracy. General relativity is the best theory we have of gravity, but we know it because of its incompatibility with quantum mechanics and established model (of particle physics), how it is not the last word.Finding the slightest deviation from general relativity, will be a major discovery that will open a window into a new Physics beyond our current understanding of the universe and finally “It can help us finally discover a unified theory of the fundamental forces of nature,” said physicist Robert Ferdman of the University of East Anglia.

“We will be back in the future using new radio telescopes and new data analysis, hoping to finally find some weakness in general relativity, which will lead to an even better gravitational theory,” said Adam Deller, an associate professor at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

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