K. Liu

BlackHoleCam: Fundamental physics of the galactic center

Einstein’s General theory of relativity (GR) successfully describes gravity. Although GR has been accurately tested in weak gravitational fields, it remains largely untested in the general strong field cases. One of the most fundamental predictions of GR is the existence of black holes (BHs). After the recent direct detection of gravitational waves by LIGO, there is now near conclusive evidence for the existence of stellar-mass BHs. In spite of this exciting discovery, there is not yet direct evidence of the existence of BHs using astronomical observations in the electromagnetic spectrum. Are BHs observable astrophysical objects? Does GR hold in its most extreme limit or are alternatives needed? The prime target to address these fundamental questions is in the center of our own Milky Way, which hosts the closest and best-constrained supermassive BH candidate in the universe, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Three different types of experiments hold the promise to test GR in a strong-field regime using observations of Sgr A* with new-generation instruments. The first experiment consists of making a standard astronomical image of the synchrotron emission from the relativistic plasma accreting onto Sgr A*. This emission forms a “shadow” around the event horizon cast against the background, whose predicted size (∼50μas) can now be resolved by upcoming very long baseline radio interferometry experiments at mm-waves such as the event horizon telescope (EHT). The second experiment aims to monitor stars orbiting Sgr A* with the next-generation near-infrared (NIR) interferometer GRAVITY at the very large telescope (VLT). The third experiment aims to detect and study a radio pulsar in tight orbit about Sgr A* using radio telescopes (including the Atacama large millimeter array or ALMA). The BlackHoleCam project exploits the synergy between these three different techniques and contributes directly to them at different levels. These efforts will eventually enable us to measure fundamental BH parameters (mass, spin, and quadrupole moment) with sufficiently high precision to provide fundamental tests of GR (e.g. testing the no-hair theorem) and probe the spacetime around a BH in any metric theory of gravity. Here, we review our current knowledge of the physical properties of Sgr A* as well as the current status of such experimental efforts towards imaging the event horizon, measuring stellar orbits, and timing pulsars around Sgr A*. We conclude that the Galactic center provides a unique fundamental-physics laboratory for experimental tests of BH accretion and theories of gravity in their most extreme limits.

Limits on Anisotropy in the Nanohertz Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background

The paucity of observed supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) may imply that the gravitational wave background (GWB) from this population is anisotropic, rendering existing analyses suboptimal. We present the first constraints on the angular distribution of a nanohertz stochastic GWB from circular, inspiral-driven SMBHBs using the 2015 European Pulsar Timing Array data. Our analysis of the GWB in the ~2-90 nHz band shows consistency with isotropy, with the strain amplitude in l>0 spherical harmonic multipoles ≲40% of the monopole value. We expect that these more general techniques will become standard tools to probe the angular distribution of source populations.

Pulsar–black hole binaries: prospects for new gravity tests with future radio telescopes

The anticipated discovery of a pulsar in orbit with a black hole is expected to provide a unique nlaboratory for black hole physics and gravity. In this context, the next generation of radio ntelescopes, like the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) and the nSquare Kilometre Array (SKA), with their unprecedented sensitivity, will play a key role. In nthis paper, we investigate the capability of future radio telescopes to probe the space–time nof a black hole and test gravity theories by timing a pulsar orbiting a stellar-mass black hole n(SBH). Based on mock data simulations, we show that a few years of timing observations of a nsufficiently compact pulsar–SBH (PSR–SBH) system with future radio telescopes would allow nprecise measurements of the black hole mass and spin. A measurement precision of 1 per cent ncan be expected for the spin. Measuring the quadrupole moment of the black hole, needed to ntest general relativity’s (GR’s) no-hair theorem, requires extreme system configurations with ncompact orbits and a large SBH mass. Additionally, we show that a PSR–SBH system can nlead to greatly improved constraints on alternative gravity theories even if they predict black nholes (practically) identical to GR’s. This is demonstrated for a specific class of scalar–tensor ntheories. Finally, we investigate the requirements for searching for PSR–SBH systems. It is nshown that the high sensitivity of the next generation of radio telescopes is key for discovering ncompact PSR–SBH systems, as it will allow for sufficiently short survey integration times.

Future measurements of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Double Pulsar

The Double Pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B has proven to be an excellent laboratory for high precision tests of general relativity. With additional years of timing measurements and new telescopes like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the precision of these tests will increase and new effects like the Lense-Thirring precession of the orbit will become measurable. Here, we discuss the prospects of measuring the Lense-Thirring effect and thereby constraining the equations of state at supra-nuclear densities in neutron stars using the Double Pulsar.

Single-pulse and profile-variability study of PSR J1022+1001

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are known as highly stable celestial clocks. Nevertheless, recent studies have revealed the unstable nature of their integrated pulse profiles, which may limit the achievable pulsar timing precision. In this article, we present a case study on the pulse-profile variability of PSR J1022+1001. We have detected approximately 14 000 subpulses (components of single pulses) in 35-h long observations, mostly located in the trailing component of the integrated profile. Their flux densities and fractional polarization suggest that they represent the bright end of the energy distribution in ordinary emission mode and are not giant pulses. The occurrence of subpulses in the leading and trailing components of the integrated profile is shown to be correlated. For subpulses from the latter, a preferred pulse width of approximately 0.25 ms has been found. Using simultaneous observations from the Effelsberg 100-m telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, we have found that the integrated profile varies on a time-scale of a few tens of minutes. We show that improper polarization calibration and diffractive scintillation cannot be the sole reason for the observed instability. In addition, we demonstrate that timing residuals generated from averages of the detected subpulses are dominated by phase jitter and we place an upper limit of similar to 700 ns on jitter noise, based on continuous 1-min integrations.

Observing Radio Pulsars in the Galactic Centre with the Square Kilometre Array

The discovery and timing of radio pulsars within the Galactic centre is a fundamental aspect of the SKA Science Case, responding to the topic of Strong Field Tests of Gravity with Pulsars and Black Holes (Kramer et al. 2004; Cordes et al. 2004). Pulsars have in many ways proven to be excellent tools for testing the General theory of Relativity and alternative gravity theories (see Wex (2014) for a recent review). Timing a pulsar in orbit around a companion, provides a unique way of probing the relativistic dynamics and spacetime of such a system. The strictest tests of gravity, in strong field conditions, are expected to come from a pulsar orbiting a black hole. In this sense, a pulsar in a close orbit (

Can we see pulsars around Sgr A⋆? The latest searches with the Effelsberg telescope.

P_{rm orb}

Improving timing sensitivity in the microhertz frequency regime: Limits from PSR J1713+0747 on gravitational waves produced by supermassive black hole binaries

< 1 yr) around our nearest supermassive black hole candidate, Sagittarius A* - at a distance of ~8.3 kpc in the Galactic centre (Gillessen et al. 2009a) - would be the ideal tool. Given the size of the orbit and the relativistic effects associated with it, even a slowly spinning pulsar would allow the black hole spacetime to be explored in great detail (Liu et al. 2012). For example, measurement of the frame dragging caused by the rotation of the supermassive black hole, would allow a test of the cosmic censorship conjecture. The no-hair theorem can be tested by measuring the quadrupole moment of the black hole. These are two of the prime examples for the fundamental studies of gravity one could do with a pulsar around Sagittarius A*. As will be shown here, SKA1-MID and ultimately the SKA will provide the opportunity to begin to find and time the pulsars in this extreme environment.

Tests of Gravitational Symmetries with Pulsar Binary J1713+0747

Radio pulsars in relativistic binary systems are unique tools to study the curved space-time around massive compact objects. The discovery of a pulsar closely orbiting the super-massive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy, Sgr A*, would provide a superb test-bed for gravitational physics. To date, the absence of any radio pulsar discoveries within a few arc minutes of Sgr A* has been explained by one principal factor: extreme scattering of radio waves caused by inhomogeneities in the ionized component of the interstellar medium in the central 100 pc around Sgr A*. Scattering, which causes temporal broadening of pulses, can only be mitigated by observing at higher frequencies. Here we describe recent searches of the Galactic centre region performed at a frequency of 18.95 GHz with the Effelsberg radio telescope.

Pulsar observations with European telescopes for testing gravity and detecting gravitational waves

We search for continuous gravitational waves (CGWs) produced by individual supermassive black hole binaries in circular orbits using high-cadence timing observations of PSR J1713+0747. We observe this millisecond pulsar using the telescopes in the European Pulsar Timing Array with an average cadence of approximately 1.6u2009d over the period between 2011 April and 2015 July, including an approximately daily average between 2013 February and 2014 April. The high-cadence observations are used to improve the pulsar timing sensitivity across the gravitational wave frequency range of 0.008−5