Lense-Thirring precession in strong gravitational fields

TL;DR

This paper derives an exact formula for Lense-Thirring precession in strong gravitational fields, applicable to rotating neutron stars and black holes, and compares theoretical predictions with observational data from pulsars.

Contribution

It provides a new exact expression for LT precession in stationary spacetimes without weak field approximation, extending applicability to strong gravity regimes.

Findings

Derived exact LT precession formula for strong fields

Computed precession rates for pulsars and compared with Earth and Sun

Validated the formula with observational data from pulsar systems

Abstract

An exact expression for the rate of dragging of inertial frames (Lense-Thirring (LT) precession) in a general stationary spacetime, is derived without invoking the weak field approximation. This expression, when used for the Kerr metric, leads to the LT precession frequency in the strong gravity regime appropriate to compact gravitating objects like rotating neutron stars and black holes. Numerical values of the precession rate are computed for a few known cases of pulsars (including a double-pulsar) and compared to the precession rates in the weaker gravity regimes of the earth and the sun.