A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF RELATIVISTIC GRAVITY USING PSR B1534+12

We present updated analyses of pulse profiles and their arrival times from PSR B1534+12, a 37.9 ms radio pulsar in orbit with another neutron star. A high-precision timing model is derived from 22 yr of timing data and accounts for all astrophysical processes that systematically affect pulse arrival times. Five post-Keplerian parameters are measured that represent relativistic corrections to the standard Keplerian quantities of the pulsar's binary orbit. These relativistic parameters are then used to test general relativity by comparing the measurements with their predicted values. We conclude that relativity theory is confirmed to within 0.17% of its predictions. Furthermore, we derive the following astrophysical results from our timing analysis: a distance of d(GR) = 1.051 +/- 0.005 kpc to the pulsar-binary system, by relating the excess orbital decay to Galactic parameters; evidence for pulse jitter in PSR B1534+12 due to short-term magnetospheric activity; and evolution in pulse-dispersion properties. As a secondary study, we also present several analyses on pulse-structure evolution and its connection to relativistic precession of the pulsar's spin axis. The precession-rate measurement yields a value of Omega(spin)(1) = 0.59(-0.08)(+0.12) degrees yr(-1) (68% confidence) that is consistent with expectations and represents an additional test of relativistic gravity.