Most accurate cosmic clocks show unexpected instability
In all the cosmos, pulsars are the most precise long-term way to measure time. The rate of orbital decay of a binary pulsar is highly dependent on the speed of gravity and the orbital parameters of the binary system. We have used binary pulsar data to constrain the speed of gravity to be equal to the speed of light to a precision of 99.8%, and to infer the existence of gravitational waves decades…
Most accurate cosmic clocks, pulsars, are the most reliable method for measuring time across the universe. Binary pulsars provide a highly dependent rate of orbital decay, which is crucial for determining the speed of gravity and orbital parameters. Pulsars generate pulses of radiation with each rotation, offering a way to observe rapid, periodic bursts.
When these pulses intersect our line-of-sight, we can detect them, typically at radio frequencies, but also at other frequencies. The fastest-spinning pulsars, millisecond pulsars, are the most accurate for timekeeping, with average time between pulses known to about 15 significant figures. However, pulsars can experience abrupt "glitches," causing a sudden acceleration in their rotational speed.
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