universe Review Gravity Tests with Radio Pulsars Norbert Wex 1,* and Michael Kramer 1,2 1 Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany;
[email protected] 2 Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 19 August 2020; Accepted: 17 September 2020; Published: 22 September 2020 Abstract: The discovery of the first binary pulsar in 1974 has opened up a completely new field of experimental gravity. In numerous important ways, pulsars have taken precision gravity tests quantitatively and qualitatively beyond the weak-field slow-motion regime of the Solar System. Apart from the first verification of the existence of gravitational waves, binary pulsars for the first time gave us the possibility to study the dynamics of strongly self-gravitating bodies with high precision. To date there are several radio pulsars known which can be utilized for precision tests of gravity. Depending on their orbital properties and the nature of their companion, these pulsars probe various different predictions of general relativity and its alternatives in the mildly relativistic strong-field regime. In many aspects, pulsar tests are complementary to other present and upcoming gravity experiments, like gravitational-wave observatories or the Event Horizon Telescope. This review gives an introduction to gravity tests with radio pulsars and its theoretical foundations, highlights some of the most important results, and gives a brief outlook into the future of this important field of experimental gravity. Keywords: gravity; general relativity; pulsars 1.