Frame dragging in black hole-pulsar binaries

Abstract

The discovery of frame-dragging effects in binary pulsar timing experiments requires a compact companion with sufficiently large spin. A pulsar orbiting a fast rotating black hole could provide an appropriate test system. In this paper we address questions concerning the identification of a black hole companion in such a system, the measurability of the frame dragging caused by the rotation of the black hole, and the measurability of the quadrupole moment, which would prove the presence of a Kerr black hole.