Pulsar timing in the Galactic Center
Phys. Rev. D 114, 024048 – Published 20 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9zwc-gk79
Abstract
We propose a novel approach which implements the relativistic calculations of the photon travel time into a robust timing model for pulsars orbiting supermassive black holes. We demonstrate that timing models relying on the lowest-order post-Newtonian approximation can produce significant discrepancies in strong-field configurations, affecting the predicted relativistic times of arrival at an Earth-based observatory. We also show how a misestimation of the pulsar parameters can lead to the appearance of phase-dependent residual, which hints at a tremendous constraining power of the binary and intrinsic parameters for timing observations of potential pulsars at the Galactic Center.
