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Constraints on Einstein-æther gravity from the precision timing of PSR J1738+0333

Massimo Vaglio1,2, Amodio Carleo3, Abhimanyu Susobhanan4,5, Enrico Barausse1,2, Bilel Ben-Salem6, Alessandro Corongiu3, Paulo C. C. Freire7, and Delphine Perrodin3

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 104021 – Published 5 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7j1h-8vf2

Abstract

We constrain Einstein-æther gravity—a Lorentz-violating extension of general relativity in which a dynamical, unit timelike vector field selects a preferred frame—using updated high-precision pulsar timing observations of PSR J1738+0333 from the European Pulsar Timing Array second data release and the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves 9-year release, in combination with times of arrival from Arecibo, Green Bank, Nançay, Parkes, and Westerbork. Our method accounts for both conservative and dissipative first post-Newtonian corrections arising from Lorentz violation; here, we apply it to PSR J1738+0333 using the Bayesian timing pipeline Vela to process the full time-of-arrival data set. We sample the joint posterior over binary component masses, post-Keplerian parameters, and center-of-mass velocity components, and then apply a resampling scheme to propagate posteriors into robust constraints on the fundamental theory parameters, obtaining the most stringent strong-field bounds on the Einstein-æther coupling constants from a single binary pulsar system to date.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 104021– Published 5 November, 2026
  • Received 29 May 2026
  • Accepted 21 September 2026
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