Abstract
One of the few experimental handles on the nonlinear properties of the gravitational interaction is to test the ‘‘strong equivalence principle,’’ i.e., to test whether the ratio / is 1 for self-gravitating bodies. We point out that existing observational data on the class of small-eccentricity long-orbital-period binary pulsars already provide a limit (namely ‖/-1‖<1.1×; 90% C.L.) which goes beyond corresponding solar-system limits in probing strong-gravitational-field effects. Possible observational ways of improving this limit are suggested.
- Received 20 February 1991
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.66.2549
©1991 American Physical Society