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SPRINGER Physics Of Relativistic Objects In Compact Binaries From Birth To Coalescence 2009 Edition by COLPI, M., CASELLA, P., GORINI, V.
A very attractive feature of the theory of general relativity is that it is a perfectexampleofa"falsi?able"theory:notunableparameterispresentinthe theory and therefore even a single experiment incompatible with a prediction of the theory would immediately lead to its inevitable rejection, at least in the physical regime of application of the aforementioned experiment. This fact provides additional scienti?c value to one of the boldest and most fascinating achievements of the human intellect ever, and motivates a wealth of e?orts in designing and implementing tests aimed at the falsi?cation of the theory. The ?rst historical test on the theory has been the de?ection of light gr- ing the solar surface (Eddington 1919): the compatibility of the theory with this ?rst experiment together with its ability to explain the magnitude of the perihelion advance of Mercury contributed strongly to boost acceptance and worldwideknowledge.However,technologicallimitations preventedphysicists from setting up more constraining tests for several decades after the formu- tion of the theory. In fact, a relevant problem with experimental general r- ativity is that the predicted deviations from the Newtonian theory of gravity areverysmallwhentheexperimentsarecarriedoutinterrestriallaboratories. Preface - Monica Colpi, Piergiorgio Casella, Vittorio Gorini, Ugo Moschella and Andrea PossentiBinary Systems as Test-beds of Gravity Theories - Thibault DamourExploiting Binary Pulsars as Laboratories of Gravity Theories - Michael KramerPerspective in The Search for Relativistic Pulsars - Nichi D'Amico and Marta BurgayThe Formation and Evolution of Relativistic Binaries - E.P.J. van den Heuvel Dynamical Formation and Evolution of Neutron Star and Black Hole Binaries in Globular Clusters - Monica Colpi and Bernadetta DevecchiShort Gamma-Ray Bursts: Marking the Birth of Black Holes from Coalescing Compact Binaries - Davide Lazzati and Rosalba PernaStrong Gravitational Field Diagnostics in Binary Systems Containing a Compact Object - L. StellaWhite Dwarfs in Ultrashort Binary Systems - Gian Luca Israel and Simone Dall'OssoBinary Black Hole Coalescence - Frans Pretorius