Testing Einstein's weak equivalence principle with a 0.4-nanosecond giant pulse of the Crab pulsar

TL;DR

This study uses a 0.4-nanosecond giant pulse from the Crab pulsar to set the most stringent test yet of Einstein's weak equivalence principle, significantly improving previous constraints.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method leveraging ultra-fast pulsar pulses to tighten constraints on EEP deviations beyond prior radio burst analyses.

Findings

Sets a new upper limit on EEP deviation: Δγ < (0.6-1.8)×10^{-15}

Improves previous constraints by 2-3 orders of magnitude

Demonstrates the potential of giant pulsar pulses for fundamental physics tests

Abstract

Einstein's weak equivalence principle (EEP) can be tested through the arrival time delay between photons with different frequencies. Assuming that the arrival time delay is solely caused by the gravitational potential of the Milky Way, we show that a "nano-shot" giant pulse with a time delay between energies corrected for all known effects, e.g. $\Delta t<0.4~\rm{ns}$, from the Crab pulsar poses a new upper limit on the deviation from EEP, i.e. $\Delta\gamma < (0.6-1.8)\times 10^{-15}$. This result provides the hitherto most stringent constraint on the EEP, improving by at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude from the previous results based on fast radio bursts.