A 2.1 Solar Mass Pulsar Measured by Relativistic Orbital Decay

PSR J0751+1807 is a millisecond pulsar in a circular 6 hr binary system with a helium white dwarf secondary. Through high precision pulse timing measurements with the Arecibo and Effelsberg radio telescopes, we have detected the decay of its orbit due to emission of gravitational radiation. This is the first detection of the relativistic orbital decay of a low-mass, circular binary pulsar system. The measured rate of change in orbital period, corrected for acceleration biases, is dP_b/dt=(-6.4+-0.9)x10^-14. Interpreted in the context of general relativity, and combined with measurement of Shapiro delay, it implies a pulsar mass of 2.1+-0.2 solar masses, the most massive pulsar measured. This adds to the emerging trend toward relatively high neutron star masses in neutron star--white dwarf binaries. Additionally, there is some evidence for an inverse correlation between pulsar mass and orbital period in these systems. We consider alternatives to the general relativistic analysis of the data, and we use the pulsar timing data to place limits on violations of the strong equivalence principle.