Two White Dwarf Stars And A Superdense Pulsar May Challenge The Strong Equivalence Principle
Monday, January 6, 2014 - 17:50
in Astronomy & Space
A newly discovered system of two white dwarf stars and a superdense pulsar, all packed into a space smaller than the Earth's orbit around the sun, could astronomers to tackle the very nature of gravity itself. The pulsar is 4,200 light-years from Earth and is spinning nearly 366 times per second – it was found to be in close orbit with a white dwarf star and the pair is in orbit with another, more distant white dwarf. The three-body system is scientists' best opportunity yet to discover a violation of a key concept in Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity: the strong equivalence principle, which states that the effect of gravity on a body does not depend on the nature or internal structure of that body. read more