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1. Erratum: 'The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Signals from New Physics' (2023, ApJL 951 L11)

Author

Adeela Afzal, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Jose Juan Blanco-Pillado, Laura Blecha, Kimberly K. Boddy, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Belinda D. Cheeseboro, Siyuan Chen, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Curt J. Cutler, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Heling Deng, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Richard von Eckardstein, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Kyle A. Gersbach, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Lydia Guertin, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Vincent S. H. Lee, Natalia Lewandowska, Rafael R. Lino dos Santos, Tyson B. Littenberg, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Jonathan Nay, Priyamvada Natarajan, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Polina Petrov, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Tobias Schröder, Levi Schult, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Peter Stratmann, Jerry P. Sun, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Tanner Trickle, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sonali Verma, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Qiaohong Wang, Caitlin A. Witt, David Wright, Olivia Young, Kathryn M. Zurek, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Astrophysics, QB460-466
Published
2024
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2. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Transverse Polarization Modes in the Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Jeremy Baier, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Priyamvada Natarajan, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Alexander Saffer, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Jerry P. Sun, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob A. Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Pulsars, Scalar-tensor-vector gravity, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Recently we found compelling evidence for a gravitational-wave background with Hellings and Downs (HD) correlations in our 15 yr data set. These correlations describe gravitational waves as predicted by general relativity, which has two transverse polarization modes. However, more general metric theories of gravity can have additional polarization modes, which produce different interpulsar correlations. In this work, we search the NANOGrav 15 yr data set for evidence of a gravitational-wave background with quadrupolar HD and scalar-transverse (ST) correlations. We find that HD correlations are the best fit to the data and no significant evidence in favor of ST correlations. While Bayes factors show strong evidence for a correlated signal, the data does not strongly prefer either correlation signature, with Bayes factors ∼2 when comparing HD to ST correlations, and ∼1 for HD plus ST correlations to HD correlations alone. However, when modeled alongside HD correlations, the amplitude and spectral index posteriors for ST correlations are uninformative, with the HD process accounting for the vast majority of the total signal. Using the optimal statistic, a frequentist technique that focuses on the pulsar-pair cross-correlations, we find median signal-to-noise ratios of 5.0 for HD and 4.6 for ST correlations when fit for separately, and median signal-to-noise ratios of 3.5 for HD and 3.0 for ST correlations when fit for simultaneously. While the signal-to-noise ratios for each of the correlations are comparable, the estimated amplitude and spectral index for HD are a significantly better fit to the total signal, in agreement with our Bayesian analysis.

Published
2024
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3. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Chromatic Gaussian Process Noise Models for Six Pulsars

Author

Bjorn Larsen, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Aurélien Chalumeau, Deborah C. Good, Joseph Simon, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Paul R. Brook, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Ross J. Jennings, Megan L. Jones, David L. Kaplan, Matthew Kerr, Michael T. Lam, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Alexander McEwen, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Ingrid H. Stairs, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Haley M. Wahl, David J. Champion, Ismaël Cognard, Lucas Guillemot, Huanchen Hu, Michael J. Keith, Kuo Liu, James W. McKee, Aditya Parthasarathy, Delphine Perrodin, Andrea Possenti, Golam M. Shaifullah, and Gilles Theureau

Subjects
Millisecond pulsars, Gravitational wave astronomy, Gravitational wave detectors, Pulsar timing method, Interstellar medium, Astronomy data analysis, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are designed to detect low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). GWs induce achromatic signals in PTA data, meaning that the timing delays do not depend on radio frequency. However, pulse arrival times are also affected by radio-frequency-dependent “chromatic” noise from sources such as dispersion measure (DM) and scattering delay variations. Furthermore, the characterization of GW signals may be influenced by the choice of chromatic noise model for each pulsar. To better understand this effect, we assess if and how different chromatic noise models affect the achromatic noise properties in each pulsar. The models we compare include existing DM models used by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational waves (NANOGrav) and noise models used for the European PTA Data Release 2 (EPTA DR2). We perform this comparison using a subsample of six pulsars from the NANOGrav 15 yr data set, selecting the same six pulsars as from the EPTA DR2 six-pulsar data set. We find that the choice of chromatic noise model noticeably affects the achromatic noise properties of several pulsars. This is most dramatic for PSR J1713+0747, where the amplitude of its achromatic red noise lowers from ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}{A}_{\mathrm{RN}}=-{14.1}_{-0.1}^{+0.1}$ to $-{14.7}_{-0.5}^{+0.3}$ , and the spectral index broadens from ${\gamma }_{\mathrm{RN}}={2.6}_{-0.4}^{+0.5}$ to ${\gamma }_{\mathrm{RN}}={3.5}_{-0.9}^{+1.2}$ . We also compare each pulsar's noise properties with those inferred from the EPTA DR2, using the same models. From the discrepancies, we identify potential areas where the noise models could be improved. These results highlight the potential for custom chromatic noise models to improve PTA sensitivity to GWs.

Published
2024
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4. An Unusual Pulse Shape Change Event in PSR J1713+0747 Observed with the Green Bank Telescope and CHIME

Author

Ross J. Jennings, James M. Cordes, Shami Chatterjee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Paul B. Demorest, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Harsha Blumer, Paul R. Brook, Tyler Cohen, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Timothy Dolch, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Emmanuel Fonseca, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Megan L. Jones, David L. Kaplan, Michael T. Lam, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, James W. McKee, Dustin R. Madison, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Joseph K. Swiggum, Chia Min Tan, Stephen R. Taylor, Sarah J. Vigeland, and Caitlin A. Witt

Subjects
Pulsars, Millisecond pulsars, Radio astrometry, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

The millisecond pulsar J1713+0747 underwent a sudden and significant pulse shape change between 2021 April 16 and 17 (MJDs 59320 and 59321). Subsequently, the pulse shape gradually recovered over the course of several months. We report the results of continued multifrequency radio observations of the pulsar made using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment and the 100 m Green Bank Telescope in a 3 yr period encompassing the shape change event, between 2020 February and 2023 February. As of 2023 February, the pulse shape had returned to a state similar to that seen before the event, but with measurable changes remaining. The amplitude of the shape change and the accompanying time-of-arrival residuals display a strong nonmonotonic dependence on radio frequency, demonstrating that the event is neither a glitch (the effects of which should be independent of radio frequency, ν ) nor a change in dispersion measure alone (which would produce a delay proportional to ν ^−2 ). However, it does bear some resemblance to the two previous “chromatic timing events” observed in J1713+0747, as well as to a similar event observed in PSR J1643−1224 in 2015.

Published
2024
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5. The NANOGrav 12.5 yr Data Set: A Computationally Efficient Eccentric Binary Search Pipeline and Constraints on an Eccentric Supermassive Binary Candidate in 3C 66B

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Harsha Blumer, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Belinda D. Cheeseboro, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Lankeswar Dey, Timothy Dolch, Justin A. Ellis, Robert D. Ferdman, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Achamveedu Gopakumar, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Kai Schmitz, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Sophia V. Sosa Fiscella, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Millisecond pulsars, Supermassive black holes, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

The radio galaxy 3C 66B has been hypothesized to host a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) at its center based on electromagnetic observations. Its apparent 1.05 yr period and low redshift (∼0.02) make it an interesting testbed to search for low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs) using pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments. This source has been subjected to multiple searches for continuous GWs from a circular SMBHB, resulting in progressively more stringent constraints on its GW amplitude and chirp mass. In this paper, we develop a pipeline for performing Bayesian targeted searches for eccentric SMBHBs in PTA data sets, and test its efficacy by applying it to simulated data sets with varying injected signal strengths. We also search for a realistic eccentric SMBHB source in 3C 66B using the NANOGrav 12.5 yr data set employing PTA signal models containing Earth term-only as well as Earth+pulsar term contributions using this pipeline. Due to limitations in our PTA signal model, we get meaningful results only when the initial eccentricity e _0 < 0.5 and the symmetric mass ratio η > 0.1. We find no evidence for an eccentric SMBHB signal in our data, and therefore place 95% upper limits on the PTA signal amplitude of 88.1 ± 3.7 ns for the Earth term-only and 81.74 ± 0.86 ns for the Earth+pulsar term searches for e _0 < 0.5 and η > 0.1. Similar 95% upper limits on the chirp mass are (1.98 ± 0.05) × 10 ^9 and (1.81 ± 0.01) × 10 ^9 M _☉ . These upper limits, while less stringent than those calculated from a circular binary search in the NANOGrav 12.5 yr data set, are consistent with the SMBHB model of 3C 66B developed from electromagnetic observations.

Published
2024
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6. The NANOGrav 12.5 yr Data Set: Search for Gravitational Wave Memory

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Harsha Blumer, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Justin A. Ellis, Robert D. Ferdman, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Nihan S. Pol, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Kai Schmitz, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Sophia V. Sosa Fiscella, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Jerry P. Sun, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Gravitational wave astronomy, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

We present the results of a Bayesian search for gravitational wave (GW) memory in the NANOGrav 12.5 yr data set. We find no convincing evidence for any gravitational wave memory signals in this data set. We find a Bayes factor of 2.8 in favor of a model that includes a memory signal and common spatially uncorrelated red noise (CURN) compared to a model including only a CURN. However, further investigation shows that a disproportionate amount of support for the memory signal comes from three dubious pulsars. Using a more flexible red-noise model in these pulsars reduces the Bayes factor to 1.3. Having found no compelling evidence, we go on to place upper limits on the strain amplitude of GW memory events as a function of sky location and event epoch. These upper limits are computed using a signal model that assumes the existence of a common, spatially uncorrelated red noise in addition to a GW memory signal. The median strain upper limit as a function of sky position is approximately 3.3 × 10 ^−14 . We also find that there are some differences in the upper limits as a function of sky position centered around PSR J0613−0200. This suggests that this pulsar has some excess noise that can be confounded with GW memory. Finally, the upper limits as a function of burst epoch continue to improve at later epochs. This improvement is attributable to the continued growth of the pulsar timing array.

Published
2024
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7. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Anisotropy in the Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Emiko Gardiner, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Levi Schult, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, and Olivia Young

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Gravitational wave astronomy, Supermassive black holes, Pulsars, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has reported evidence for the presence of an isotropic nanohertz gravitational-wave background (GWB) in its 15 yr data set. However, if the GWB is produced by a population of inspiraling supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) systems, then the background is predicted to be anisotropic, depending on the distribution of these systems in the local Universe and the statistical properties of the SMBHB population. In this work, we search for anisotropy in the GWB using multiple methods and bases to describe the distribution of the GWB power on the sky. We do not find significant evidence of anisotropy. By modeling the angular power distribution as a sum over spherical harmonics (where the coefficients are not bound to always generate positive power everywhere), we find that the Bayesian 95% upper limit on the level of dipole anisotropy is ( C _l _=1 / C _l _=0 ) < 27%. This is similar to the upper limit derived under the constraint of positive power everywhere, indicating that the dipole may be close to the data-informed regime. By contrast, the constraints on anisotropy at higher spherical-harmonic multipoles are strongly prior dominated. We also derive conservative estimates on the anisotropy expected from a random distribution of SMBHB systems using astrophysical simulations conditioned on the isotropic GWB inferred in the 15 yr data set and show that this data set has sufficient sensitivity to probe a large fraction of the predicted level of anisotropy. We end by highlighting the opportunities and challenges in searching for anisotropy in pulsar timing array data.

Published
2023
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8. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Alexander Bonilla, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Belinda D. Cheeseboro, Siyuan Chen, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Curt J. Cutler, Daniel J. D’Orazio, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Heling Deng, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Emiko Gardiner, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Kyle A. Gersbach, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tyson B. Littenberg, Tingting Liu, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Priyamvada Natarajan, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Polina Petrov, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Jessie C. Runnoe, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Levi Schult, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Jerry P. Sun, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Jeremy M. Wachter, Haley M. Wahl, Qiaohong Wang, Caitlin A. Witt, David Wright, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Supermassive black holes, Galaxy evolution, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

The NANOGrav 15 yr data set shows evidence for the presence of a low-frequency gravitational-wave background (GWB). While many physical processes can source such low-frequency gravitational waves, here we analyze the signal as coming from a population of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries distributed throughout the Universe. We show that astrophysically motivated models of SMBH binary populations are able to reproduce both the amplitude and shape of the observed low-frequency gravitational-wave spectrum. While multiple model variations are able to reproduce the GWB spectrum at our current measurement precision, our results highlight the importance of accurately modeling binary evolution for producing realistic GWB spectra. Additionally, while reasonable parameters are able to reproduce the 15 yr observations, the implied GWB amplitude necessitates either a large number of parameters to be at the edges of expected values or a small number of parameters to be notably different from standard expectations. While we are not yet able to definitively establish the origin of the inferred GWB signal, the consistency of the signal with astrophysical expectations offers a tantalizing prospect for confirming that SMBH binaries are able to form, reach subparsec separations, and eventually coalesce. As the significance grows over time, higher-order features of the GWB spectrum will definitively determine the nature of the GWB and allow for novel constraints on SMBH populations.

Published
2023
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9. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Bayesian Limits on Gravitational Waves from Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Robin Case, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Matthew C. Digman, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Polina Petrov, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Rutger van Haasteren, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational wave astronomy, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Evidence for a low-frequency stochastic gravitational-wave background has recently been reported based on analyses of pulsar timing array data. The most likely source of such a background is a population of supermassive black hole binaries, the loudest of which may be individually detected in these data sets. Here we present the search for individual supermassive black hole binaries in the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. We introduce several new techniques, which enhance the efficiency and modeling accuracy of the analysis. The search uncovered weak evidence for two candidate signals, one with a gravitational-wave frequency of ∼4 nHz, and another at ∼170 nHz. The significance of the low-frequency candidate was greatly diminished when Hellings–Downs correlations were included in the background model. The high-frequency candidate was discounted due to the lack of a plausible host galaxy, the unlikely astrophysical prior odds of finding such a source, and since most of its support comes from a single pulsar with a commensurate binary period. Finding no compelling evidence for signals from individual binary systems, we place upper limits on the strain amplitude of gravitational waves emitted by such systems. At our most sensitive frequency of 6 nHz, we place a sky-averaged 95% upper limit of 8 × 10 ^−15 on the strain amplitude. We also calculate an exclusion volume and a corresponding effective radius, within which we can rule out the presence of black hole binaries emitting at a given frequency.

Published
2023
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10. The NANOGrav 12.5 yr Data Set: Bayesian Limits on Gravitational Waves from Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Author

Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Laura Blecha, Harsha Blumer, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Bence Bécsy, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Siyuan Chen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Justin A. Ellis, E. C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey Shapiro Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, Maura A. McLaughlin, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Nihan S. Pol, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena Siwek, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jessica Sydnor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Gregory Walsh, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Astronomy data analysis, Millisecond pulsars, Supermassive black holes, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Pulsar timing array collaborations, such as the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), are seeking to detect nanohertz gravitational waves emitted by supermassive black hole binaries formed in the aftermath of galaxy mergers. We have searched for continuous waves from individual circular supermassive black hole binaries using NANOGrav’s recent 12.5 yr data set. We created new methods to accurately model the uncertainties on pulsar distances in our analysis, and we implemented new techniques to account for a common red-noise process in pulsar timing array data sets while searching for deterministic gravitational wave signals, including continuous waves. As we found no evidence for continuous waves in our data, we placed 95% upper limits on the strain amplitude of continuous waves emitted by these sources. At our most sensitive frequency of 7.65 nHz, we placed a sky-averaged limit of h _0 < (6.82 ± 0.35) × 10 ^−15 , and h _0 < (2.66 ± 0.15) × 10 ^−15 in our most sensitive sky location. Finally, we placed a multimessenger limit of ${ \mathcal M }\lt (1.41\pm 0.02)\times {10}^{9}\,{M}_{\odot }$ on the chirp mass of the supermassive black hole binary candidate 3C 66B.

Published
2023
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11. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Belinda D. Cheeseboro, Siyuan Chen, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Curt J. Cutler, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Heling Deng, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Justin A. Ellis, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Kyle A. Gersbach, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Tonia C. Klein, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tyson B. Littenberg, Tingting Liu, Andrea Lommen, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Margaret A. Mattson, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Priyamvada Natarajan, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Polina Petrov, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Levi Schult, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Jerry P. Sun, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Rutger van Haasteren, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Qiaohong Wang, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Gravitational wave astronomy, Millisecond pulsars, Radio pulsars, Supermassive black holes, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

We report multiple lines of evidence for a stochastic signal that is correlated among 67 pulsars from the 15 yr pulsar timing data set collected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. The correlations follow the Hellings–Downs pattern expected for a stochastic gravitational-wave background. The presence of such a gravitational-wave background with a power-law spectrum is favored over a model with only independent pulsar noises with a Bayes factor in excess of 10 ^14 , and this same model is favored over an uncorrelated common power-law spectrum model with Bayes factors of 200–1000, depending on spectral modeling choices. We have built a statistical background distribution for the latter Bayes factors using a method that removes interpulsar correlations from our data set, finding p = 10 ^−3 (≈3 σ ) for the observed Bayes factors in the null no-correlation scenario. A frequentist test statistic built directly as a weighted sum of interpulsar correlations yields p = 5 × 10 ^−5 to 1.9 × 10 ^−4 (≈3.5 σ –4 σ ). Assuming a fiducial f ^−2/3 characteristic strain spectrum, as appropriate for an ensemble of binary supermassive black hole inspirals, the strain amplitude is ${2.4}_{-0.6}^{+0.7}\times {10}^{-15}$ (median + 90% credible interval) at a reference frequency of 1 yr ^−1 . The inferred gravitational-wave background amplitude and spectrum are consistent with astrophysical expectations for a signal from a population of supermassive black hole binaries, although more exotic cosmological and astrophysical sources cannot be excluded. The observation of Hellings–Downs correlations points to the gravitational-wave origin of this signal.

Published
2023
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12. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Observations and Timing of 68 Millisecond Pulsars

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Md Faisal Alam, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Laura Blecha, Victoria Bonidie, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Bence Bécsy, Christopher Chapman, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Cody Jessup, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Anastasia Kuske, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Ye Lin, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Kaleb Maraccini, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Elisa Panciu, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Laura Salo, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Carl Schmiedekamp, Ann Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Qiaohong Wang, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Millisecond pulsars, Pulsar timing method, Time series analysis, Pulsars, Gravitational waves, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

We present observations and timing analyses of 68 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) comprising the 15 yr data set of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). NANOGrav is a pulsar timing array (PTA) experiment that is sensitive to low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). This is NANOGrav’s fifth public data release, including both “narrowband” and “wideband” time-of-arrival (TOA) measurements and corresponding pulsar timing models. We have added 21 MSPs and extended our timing baselines by 3 yr, now spanning nearly 16 yr for some of our sources. The data were collected using the Arecibo Observatory, the Green Bank Telescope, and the Very Large Array between frequencies of 327 MHz and 3 GHz, with most sources observed approximately monthly. A number of notable methodological and procedural changes were made compared to our previous data sets. These improve the overall quality of the TOA data set and are part of the transition to new pulsar timing and PTA analysis software packages. For the first time, our data products are accompanied by a full suite of software to reproduce data reduction, analysis, and results. Our timing models include a variety of newly detected astrometric and binary pulsar parameters, including several significant improvements to pulsar mass constraints. We find that the time series of 23 pulsars contain detectable levels of red noise, 10 of which are new measurements. In this data set, we find evidence for a stochastic GW background.

Published
2023
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13. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Detector Characterization and Noise Budget

Author

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Lydia Guertin, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, Olivia Young, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Millisecond pulsars, Pulsar timing method, Gravitational wave astronomy, Gravitational wave detectors, Radio astronomy, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are galactic-scale gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Each individual arm, composed of a millisecond pulsar, a radio telescope, and a kiloparsecs-long path, differs in its properties but, in aggregate, can be used to extract low-frequency GW signals. We present a noise and sensitivity analysis to accompany the NANOGrav 15 yr data release and associated papers, along with an in-depth introduction to PTA noise models. As a first step in our analysis, we characterize each individual pulsar data set with three types of white-noise parameters and two red-noise parameters. These parameters, along with the timing model and, particularly, a piecewise-constant model for the time-variable dispersion measure, determine the sensitivity curve over the low-frequency GW band we are searching. We tabulate information for all of the pulsars in this data release and present some representative sensitivity curves. We then combine the individual pulsar sensitivities using a signal-to-noise ratio statistic to calculate the global sensitivity of the PTA to a stochastic background of GWs, obtaining a minimum noise characteristic strain of 7 × 10 ^−15 at 5 nHz. A power-law-integrated analysis shows rough agreement with the amplitudes recovered in NANOGrav’s 15 yr GW background analysis. While our phenomenological noise model does not model all known physical effects explicitly, it provides an accurate characterization of the noise in the data while preserving sensitivity to multiple classes of GW signals.

Published
2023
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14. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Signals from New Physics

Author

Adeela Afzal, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Jose Juan Blanco-Pillado, Laura Blecha, Kimberly K. Boddy, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Rand Burnette, Robin Case, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Belinda D. Cheeseboro, Siyuan Chen, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Curt J. Cutler, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Heling Deng, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Richard von Eckardstein, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Kyle A. Gersbach, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Lydia Guertin, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Vincent S. H. Lee, Natalia Lewandowska, Rafael R. Lino dos Santos, Tyson B. Littenberg, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Jonathan Nay, Priyamvada Natarajan, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Polina Petrov, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Tobias Schröder, Levi Schult, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Peter Stratmann, Jerry P. Sun, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Jacob Taylor, Stephen R. Taylor, Tanner Trickle, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Sonali Verma, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Qiaohong Wang, Caitlin A. Witt, David Wright, Olivia Young, Kathryn M. Zurek, and The NANOGrav Collaboration

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Cosmology, Particle astrophysics, Gravitational wave sources, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

The 15 yr pulsar timing data set collected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) shows positive evidence for the presence of a low-frequency gravitational-wave (GW) background. In this paper, we investigate potential cosmological interpretations of this signal, specifically cosmic inflation, scalar-induced GWs, first-order phase transitions, cosmic strings, and domain walls. We find that, with the exception of stable cosmic strings of field theory origin, all these models can reproduce the observed signal. When compared to the standard interpretation in terms of inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), many cosmological models seem to provide a better fit resulting in Bayes factors in the range from 10 to 100. However, these results strongly depend on modeling assumptions about the cosmic SMBHB population and, at this stage, should not be regarded as evidence for new physics. Furthermore, we identify excluded parameter regions where the predicted GW signal from cosmological sources significantly exceeds the NANOGrav signal. These parameter constraints are independent of the origin of the NANOGrav signal and illustrate how pulsar timing data provide a new way to constrain the parameter space of these models. Finally, we search for deterministic signals produced by models of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) and dark matter substructures in the Milky Way. We find no evidence for either of these signals and thus report updated constraints on these models. In the case of ULDM, these constraints outperform torsion balance and atomic clock constraints for ULDM coupled to electrons, muons, or gluons.

Published
2023
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15. UGC 4211: A Confirmed Dual Active Galactic Nucleus in the Local Universe at 230 pc Nuclear Separation

Author

Michael J. Koss, Ezequiel Treister, Darshan Kakkad, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Taiki Kawamuro, Jonathan Williams, Adi Foord, Benny Trakhtenbrot, Franz E. Bauer, George C. Privon, Claudio Ricci, Richard Mushotzky, Loreto Barcos-Munoz, Laura Blecha, Thomas Connor, Fiona Harrison, Tingting Liu, Macon Magno, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Francisco Muller-Sanchez, Kyuseok Oh, T. Taro Shimizu, Krista Lynne Smith, Daniel Stern, Miguel Parra Tello, and C. Megan Urry

Subjects
AGN host galaxies, X-ray active galactic nuclei, Galaxy mergers, Interacting galaxies, Galaxy collisions, AB photometry, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

We present multiwavelength high-spatial resolution (∼0.″1, 70 pc) observations of UGC 4211 at z = 0.03474, a late-stage major galaxy merger at the closest nuclear separation yet found in near-IR imaging (0.″32, ∼230 pc projected separation). Using Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, Very Large Telescope/MUSE+AO, Keck/OSIRIS+AO spectroscopy, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations, we show that the spatial distribution, optical and near-infrared emission lines, and millimeter continuum emission are all consistent with both nuclei being powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Our data, combined with common black hole mass prescriptions, suggest that both SMBHs have similar masses, $\mathrm{log}\left({M}_{\mathrm{BH}}/{M}_{\odot }\right)$ ∼ 8.1 (south) and $\mathrm{log}\left({M}_{\mathrm{BH}}/{M}_{\odot }\right)$ ∼ 8.3 (north), respectively. The projected separation of 230 pc (∼6× the black hole sphere of influence) represents the closest-separation dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) studied to date with multiwavelength resolved spectroscopy and shows the potential of nuclear (

Published
2023
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16. How to Detect an Astrophysical Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Background

Author

Bence Bécsy, Neil J. Cornish, Patrick M. Meyers, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Tyler Cohen, James M. Cordes, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Kayhan Gültekin, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Sophie Hourihane, Ross J. Jennings, Aaron D. Johnson, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Matthew Kerr, Joey S. Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, William G. Lamb, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Natalia Lewandowska, Tyson B. Littenberg, Tingting Liu, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, James W. McKee, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Andrea Mitridate, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Stella Koch Ocker, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Kai Schmitz, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Sophia V. Sosa Fiscella, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Caner Unal, Michele Vallisneri, Rutger van Haasteren, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, and Olivia Young

Subjects
Gravitational waves, Gravitational wave sources, Gravitational wave astronomy, Supermassive black holes, Astronomy data analysis, Bayesian statistics, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Analyses of pulsar timing data have provided evidence for a stochastic gravitational wave background in the nanohertz frequency band. The most plausible source of this background is the superposition of signals from millions of supermassive black hole binaries. The standard statistical techniques used to search for this background and assess its significance make several simplifying assumptions, namely (i) Gaussianity, (ii) isotropy, and most often, (iii) a power-law spectrum. However, a stochastic background from a finite collection of binaries does not exactly satisfy any of these assumptions. To understand the effect of these assumptions, we test standard analysis techniques on a large collection of realistic simulated data sets. The data-set length, observing schedule, and noise levels were chosen to emulate the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. Simulated signals from millions of binaries drawn from models based on the Illustris cosmological hydrodynamical simulation were added to the data. We find that the standard statistical methods perform remarkably well on these simulated data sets, even though their fundamental assumptions are not strictly met. They are able to achieve a confident detection of the background. However, even for a fixed set of astrophysical parameters, different realizations of the universe result in a large variance in the significance and recovered parameters of the background. We also find that the presence of loud individual binaries can bias the spectral recovery of the background if we do not account for them.

Published
2023
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17. Strongly Lensed Supermassive Black Hole Binaries as Nanohertz Gravitational-wave Sources

Author

Nicole M. Khusid, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Priyamvada Natarajan, J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, and Anna Barnacka

Subjects
Gravitational lensing, Gravitational wave sources, Gravitational wave astronomy, Gravitational wave detectors, Quasars, Pulsar timing method, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHBs) should be the most powerful sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the universe. Once pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) detect the stochastic GW background from their cosmic merger history, searching for individually resolvable binaries will take on new importance. Since these individual SMBHBs are expected to be rare, here we explore how strong gravitational lensing can act as a tool for increasing their detection prospects by magnifying fainter sources and bringing them into view. Unlike for electromagnetic waves, when the geometric optics limit is nearly always valid, for GWs the wave-diffraction-interference effects can become important when the wavelength of the GWs is larger than the Schwarzchild radius of the lens, i.e., ${M}_{\mathrm{lens}}\sim {10}^{8}{\left(\tfrac{f}{\mathrm{mHz}}\right)}^{-1}\,{M}_{\odot }$ . For the GW frequency range explored in this work, the geometric optics limit holds. We investigate GW signals from SMBHBs that might be detectable with current and future PTAs under the assumption that quasars serve as bright beacons that signal a recent merger. Using the black hole mass function derived from quasars and a physically motivated magnification distribution, we expect to detect a few strongly lensed binary systems out to z ≈ 2. Additionally, for a range of fixed magnifications 2 ≤ μ ≤ 100, strong lensing adds up to ∼30 more detectable binaries for PTAs. Finally, we investigate the possibility of observing both time-delayed electromagnetic signals and GW signals from these strongly lensed binary systems—that will provide us with unprecedented multi-messenger insights into their orbital evolution.

Published
2023
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18. Improving Distances to Binary Millisecond Pulsars with Gaia

Author

Abigail Moran, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Megan Bedell, Deborah Good, and David N. Spergel

Subjects
Millisecond pulsars, Binary pulsars, Distance measure, Gaia, Astrophysics, QB460-466
Abstract

Pulsar distances are notoriously difficult to measure, and play an important role in many fundamental physics experiments, such as pulsar timing arrays. Here, we perform a cross-match between International PTA pulsars (IPTA) and Gaia's Data Release 2 (DR2) and Data Release 3 (DR3). We then combine the IPTA pulsar’s parallax with its binary companion’s parallax, found in Gaia, to improve the distance measurement to the binary. We find seven cross-matched IPTA pulsars in Gaia DR2, and when using Gaia DR3 we find six IPTA pulsar cross-matches but with seven Gaia objects. Moving from Gaia DR2 to Gaia DR3, we find that the Gaia parallaxes for the successfully cross-matched pulsars improved by 53%, and pulsar distances improved by 29%. Finally, we find that binary companions with a

Published
2023
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19. Gravitational-Wave Cosmology across 29 Decades in Frequency

Author

Paul D. Lasky, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Tristan L. Smith, John T. Giblin, Jr., Eric Thrane, Daniel J. Reardon, Robert Caldwell, Matthew Bailes, N. D. Ramesh Bhat, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Shi Dai, James Dempsey, George Hobbs, Matthew Kerr, Yuri Levin, Richard N. Manchester, Stefan Osłowski, Vikram Ravi, Pablo A. Rosado, Ryan M. Shannon, Renée Spiewak, Willem van Straten, Lawrence Toomey, Jingbo Wang, Linqing Wen, Xiaopeng You, and Xingjiang Zhu

Subjects
Physics, QC1-999
Abstract

Quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field in the early Universe, amplified by inflation, produce a primordial gravitational-wave background across a broad frequency band. We derive constraints on the spectrum of this gravitational radiation, and hence on theories of the early Universe, by combining experiments that cover 29 orders of magnitude in frequency. These include Planck observations of cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization power spectra and lensing, together with baryon acoustic oscillations and big bang nucleosynthesis measurements, as well as new pulsar timing array and ground-based interferometer limits. While individual experiments constrain the gravitational-wave energy density in specific frequency bands, the combination of experiments allows us to constrain cosmological parameters, including the inflationary spectral index n_{t} and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. Results from individual experiments include the most stringent nanohertz limit of the primordial background to date from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, Ω_{GW}(f)

Published
2016
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20. The NANOGrav 11yr Data Set: Limits on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Galaxies within 500 Mpc

Author

Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Bence Bécsy, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Rodney D. Elliott, Justin A. Ellis, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Emmanuel Fonseca, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey Shapiro Key, Michael T. Lam, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Chung-Pei Ma, Dustin R. Madison, Maura A. McLaughlin, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Nihan S. Pol, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, and Caitlin A. Witt

Subjects
Astrophysics, Astronomy
Abstract

Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) should form frequently in galactic nuclei as a result of galaxy mergers. At subparsec separations, binaries become strong sources of low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs), targeted by Pulsar Timing Arrays. We used recent upper limits on continuous GWs from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) 11 yr data set to place constraints on putative SMBHBs in nearby massive galaxies. We compiled a comprehensive catalog of ∼44,000 galaxies in the local universe (up to redshift ∼0.05) and populated them with hypothetical binaries, assuming that the total mass of the binary is equal to the SMBH mass derived from global scaling relations. Assuming circular equal-mass binaries emitting at NANOGrav's most sensitive frequency of 8 nHz, we found that 216 galaxies are within NANOGrav's sensitivity volume. We ranked the potential SMBHBs based on GW detectability by calculating the total signal-to-noise ratio such binaries would induce within the NANOGrav array. We placed constraints on the chirp mass and mass ratio of the 216 hypothetical binaries. For 19 galaxies, only very unequal-mass binaries are allowed, with the mass of the secondary less than 10% that of the primary, roughly comparable to constraints on an SMBHB in the Milky Way. However, we demonstrated that the (typically large) uncertainties in the mass measurements can weaken the upper limits on the chirp mass. Additionally, we were able to exclude binaries delivered by major mergers (mass ratio of at least 1/4) for several of these galaxies. We also derived the first limit on the density of binaries delivered by major mergers purely based on GW data.

Published
2021
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21. Astrophysics Milestones for Pulsar Timing Array Gravitational-wave Detection

Author

Nihan S. Pol, Stephen R. Taylor, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Sarah J. Vigeland, Joseph Simon, Siyuan Chen, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Bence Bécsy, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Shami Chatterjee, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Joey Shapiro Key, Michael T. Lam, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, Maura A. McLaughlin, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Joseph K. Swiggum, Michele Vallisneri, Haley Wahl, and Caitlin A. Witt

Subjects
Astrophysics, Physics Of Elementary Particles And Fields
Abstract

The NANOGrav Collaboration reported strong Bayesian evidence for a common-spectrum stochastic process in its12.5 yr pulsar timing array data set, with median characteristic strain amplitude at periods of a year of A(yr) = 1.92(+0.75,-0.55) x 10^(-15). However, evidence for the quadrupolar Hellings & Downs interpulsar correlations, which are characteristic of gravitational-wave signals, was not yet significant. We emulate and extend the NANOGrav data set, injecting a wide range of stochastic gravitational-wave background(GWB)signals that encompass a variety of amplitudes and spectral shapes, and quantify three key milestones.(I)Given the amplitude measured in the 12.5 yr analysis and assuming this signal is a GWB, we expect to accumulate robust evidence of an interpulsar-correlated GWB signal with 15–17 yr of data, i.e., an additional 2–5 yr from the 12.5 yr data set.(II)At the initial detection, we expect a fractional uncertainty of 40% on the power-law strain spectrum slope, which is sufficient to distinguish a GWB of supermassive black hole binary origin from some models predicting more exotic origins.(III)Similarly, the measured GWB amplitude will have an uncertainty of 44% upon initial detection, allowing us to arbitrate between some population models of supermassive black hole binaries. In addition, power-law models are distinguishable from those having low-frequency spectral turnovers once 20 yr of data are reached. Even though our study is based on the NANOGrav data, we also derive relations that allow for a generalization to other pulsar timing array data sets. Most notably, by combining the data of individual arrays into the International Pulsar Timing Array, all of these milestones can be reached significantly earlier.

Published
2021
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23. Multimessenger Gravitational-wave Searches with Pulsar Timing Arrays: Application to 3C 66B Using the NANOGrav 11-year Data Set

Author

Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T Baker, Adam Brazier, Paul R Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Bence Becsy, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, James M Cordes, Neil J Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E DeCesar, Paul B Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Rodney D Elliott, Justin A Ellis, Robert D Ferdman, Elizabeth C Ferrara, Emmanuel Fonseca, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Peter A Gentile, Deborah C Good, Jeffrey S Hazboun, Kristina Islo, Ross J Jennings, Megan L Jones, Andrew R Kaiser, David L Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey Shapiro Key, Michael T Lam, T Joseph W Lazio, Lina Levin, Jing Luo, Ryan S Lynch, Dustin R Madison, Maura A McLaughlin, Chiara M F Mingarelli, Cherry Ng, David J Nice, Timothy T Pennucci, Nihan S Pol, Scott M Ransom, Paul S Ray, Brent J Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Renee Spiewak, Ingrid H Stairs, Daniel R Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Joseph K Swiggum, Stephen R Taylor, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J Vigeland, Caitlin A Witt, and Weiwei Zhu

Subjects
Astronomy
Abstract

When galaxies merge, the supermassive black holes in their centers may form binaries and emit low-frequency gravitational radiation in the process. In this paper, we consider the galaxy 3C 66B, which was used as the target of the first multimessenger search for gravitational waves. Due to the observed periodicities present in the photometric and astrometric data of the source, it has been theorized to contain a supermassive black hole binary. Its apparent 1.05-year orbital period would place the gravitational-wave emission directly in the pulsar timing band. Since the first pulsar timing array study of 3C 66B, revised models of the source have been published, and timing array sensitivities and techniques have improved dramatically. With these advances, we further constrain the chirp mass of the potential supermassive black hole binary in 3C 66B to less than (1.65±0.02)×109Me using data from the NANOGrav 11-year data set. This upper limit provides a factor of 1.6 improvement over previous limits and a factor of 4.3 over the first search done. Nevertheless, the most recent orbital model for the source is still consistent with our limit from pulsar timing array data. In addition, we are able to quantify the improvement made by the inclusion of source properties gleaned from electromagnetic data over “blind” pulsar timing array searches. With these methods, it is apparent that it is not necessary to obtain exact a priori knowledge of the period of a binary to gain meaningful astrophysical inferences.

Published
2020
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25. Prospects of Gravitational Wave Detections from Common Envelope Evolution with LISA

Author

L. A. C. van Son, K. Chatziioannou, Mathieu Renzo, B. McKernan, Thomas Callister, K. E. S. Ford, Matteo Cantiello, G. Ashton, and Chiara M. F. Mingarelli

Subjects
Physics, Common envelope, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, Gravitational wave, Astronomy, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract

Understanding common envelope (CE) evolution is an outstanding problem in binary evolution. Although the CE phase is not driven by gravitational-wave (GW) emission, the in-spiraling binary emits GWs that passively trace the CE dynamics. Detecting this GW signal would provide direct insight into the gas-driven physics. Even a non-detection might offer invaluable constraints. We investigate the prospects of detection of a Galactic CE by LISA. While the dynamical phase of the CE is likely sufficiently loud for detection, it is short and thus rare. We focus instead on the self-regulated phase that proceeds on a thermal timescale. Based on population synthesis calculations and the (unknown) signal duration in the LISA band, we expect $\sim 0.1-100$ sources in the Galaxy during the mission duration. We map the GW observable parameter space of frequency $f_\mathrm{GW}$ and its derivative $\dot f_\mathrm{GW}$ remaining agnostic on the specifics of the inspiral, and find that signals with $\mathrm{SNR}>10$ are possible if the CE stalls at separations such that $f_\mathrm{GW}\gtrsim2\times10^{-3}\,\mathrm{Hz}$. We investigate the possibility of misidentifying the signal with other known sources. If the second derivative $\ddot f_\mathrm{GW}$ can also be measured, the signal can be distinguished from other sources using a GW braking-index. Alternatively, coupling LISA with electromagnetic observations of peculiar red giant stars and/or infrared and optical transients might allow for the disentangling of a Galactic CE from other Galactic and extra-galactic GW sources., Accepted by ApJ -- author's version. Code available at: https://github.com/tcallister/LISA-and-CE-Evolution

Published
2021

27. The NANOGrav 12.5-year Data Set: Search for Non-Einsteinian Polarization Modes in the Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Harsha Blumer, Bence Bécsy, Adam Brazier, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Maria Charisi, Shami Chatterjee, Siyuan Chen, James M. Cordes, Neil J. Cornish, Fronefield Crawford, H. Thankful Cromartie, Megan E. DeCesar, Dallas M. DeGan, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Brendan Drachler, Justin A. Ellis, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, A. Miguel Holgado, Kristina Islo, Ross J. Jennings, Megan L. Jones, Andrew R. Kaiser, David L. Kaplan, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Joey Shapiro Key, Nima Laal, Michael T. Lam, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Duncan R. Lorimer, Tingting Liu, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Dustin R. Madison, Alexander McEwen, Maura A. McLaughlin, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Ken D. Olum, Timothy T. Pennucci, Nihan S. Pol, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Joseph D. Romano, Shashwat C. Sardesai, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Xavier Siemens, Joseph Simon, Magdalena S. Siwek, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, Daniel R. Stinebring, Kevin Stovall, Jerry P. Sun, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Jacob E. Turner, Michele Vallisneri, Sarah J. Vigeland, Haley M. Wahl, Caitlin A. Witt, Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), and NANOGrav

Subjects
noise, family, gravitation: model, FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), power spectrum, 01 natural sciences, Bayesian, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, pulsar, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), polarization, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, gravitational radiation: background, Astronomy and Astrophysics, NANOGrav, solar system, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, transverse, space-time, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), correlation, [PHYS.GRQC]Physics [physics]/General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology [gr-qc], Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract

We search NANOGrav's 12.5-year data set for evidence of a gravitational wave background (GWB) with all the spatial correlations allowed by general metric theories of gravity. We find no substantial evidence in favor of the existence of such correlations in our data. We find that scalar-transverse (ST) correlations yield signal-to-noise ratios and Bayes factors that are higher than quadrupolar (tensor transverse, TT) correlations. Specifically, we find ST correlations with a signal-to-noise ratio of 2.8 that are preferred over TT correlations (Hellings and Downs correlations) with Bayesian odds of about 20:1. However, the significance of ST correlations is reduced dramatically when we include modeling of the Solar System ephemeris systematics and/or remove pulsar J0030$+$0451 entirely from consideration. Even taking the nominal signal-to-noise ratios at face value, analyses of simulated data sets show that such values are not extremely unlikely to be observed in cases where only the usual TT modes are present in the GWB. In the absence of a detection of any polarization mode of gravity, we place upper limits on their amplitudes for a spectral index of $\gamma = 5$ and a reference frequency of $f_\text{yr} = 1 \text{yr}^{-1}$. Among the upper limits for eight general families of metric theories of gravity, we find the values of $A^{95\%}_{TT} = (9.7 \pm 0.4)\times 10^{-16}$ and $A^{95\%}_{ST} = (1.4 \pm 0.03)\times 10^{-15}$ for the family of metric spacetime theories that contain both TT and ST modes., Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures, 3 appendices. Please send any comments/questions to Nima Laal (laaln@oregonstate.edu)

Published
2021
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28. Astrophysics Milestones for Pulsar Timing Array Gravitational-wave Detection

Author

Paul R. Brook, Megan E. Decesar, David J. Nice, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Timothy T. Pennucci, H. Thankful Cromartie, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Timothy Dolch, Daniel R. Stinebring, Paul Demorest, Alexander McEwen, Ryan S. Lynch, Siyuan Chen, James M. Cordes, Scott M. Ransom, Paul T. Baker, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Ingrid H. Stairs, Megan L. Jones, Neil J. Cornish, Ross J. Jennings, Paul S. Ray, Haley M. Wahl, Adam Brazier, Joseph Simon, William Fiore, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Joseph K. Swiggum, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Cherry Ng, Joey Shapiro Key, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Michael T. Lam, Xavier Siemens, Jing Luo, D. R. Madison, Deborah C. Good, Maura McLaughlin, Sarah J. Vigeland, B. Bécsy, Michele Vallisneri, Zaven Arzoumanian, David L. Kaplan, Caitlin A. Witt, Fronefield Crawford, Shami Chatterjee, Emmanuel Fonseca, Stephen Taylor, Andrew R. Kaiser, Nihan Pol, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and NANOGrav

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, gravitational radiation: stochastic, FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Gravitational-wave astronomy, Bayesian, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Pulsar timing array, Pulsar, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, black hole, gravitational radiation: spectrum, cosmic string, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, spectrum: slope, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, pulsar, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, Gravitational wave, gravitational radiation: background, Astronomy and Astrophysics, NANOGrav, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Cosmic string, Amplitude, black hole: binary, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), correlation, fractional, [PHYS.GRQC]Physics [physics]/General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology [gr-qc], spectral, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract

The NANOGrav Collaboration reported strong Bayesian evidence for a common-spectrum stochastic process in its 12.5-yr pulsar timing array dataset, with median characteristic strain amplitude at periods of a year of $A_{\rm yr} = 1.92^{+0.75}_{-0.55} \times 10^{-15}$. However, evidence for the quadrupolar Hellings \& Downs interpulsar correlations, which are characteristic of gravitational wave signals, was not yet significant. We emulate and extend the NANOGrav dataset, injecting a wide range of stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) signals that encompass a variety of amplitudes and spectral shapes, and quantify three key milestones: (I) Given the amplitude measured in the 12.5 yr analysis and assuming this signal is a GWB, we expect to accumulate robust evidence of an interpulsar-correlated GWB signal with 15--17 yrs of data, i.e., an additional 2--5 yrs from the 12.5 yr dataset; (II) At the initial detection, we expect a fractional uncertainty of $40\%$ on the power-law strain spectrum slope, which is sufficient to distinguish a GWB of supermassive black-hole binary origin from some models predicting more exotic origins;(III) Similarly, the measured GWB amplitude will have an uncertainty of $44\%$ upon initial detection, allowing us to arbitrate between some population models of supermassive black-hole binaries. In addition, power-law models are distinguishable from those having low-frequency spectral turnovers once 20~yrs of data are reached. Even though our study is based on the NANOGrav data, we also derive relations that allow for a generalization to other pulsar-timing array datasets. Most notably, by combining the data of individual arrays into the International Pulsar Timing Array, all of these milestones can be reached significantly earlier., 15 pages, 7 figures

Published
2021
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29. Multimessenger gravitational-wave searches with pulsar timing arrays: Application to 3C 66B using the NANOGrav 11-year data set

Author

Maria Charisi, Ryan S. Lynch, Daniel R. Stinebring, David J. Nice, Timothy Dolch, Justin A. Ellis, Paul Demorest, Weiwei Zhu, Dustin R. Madison, Jing Luo, Peter A. Gentile, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Maura McLaughlin, K. Islo, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Scott M. Ransom, Rodney D. Elliott, Nihan Pol, Stephen Taylor, Ingrid H. Stairs, H. Thankful Cromartie, Fronefield Crawford, Michael T. Lam, Timothy T. Pennucci, Joseph Simon, Michele Vallisneri, James M. Cordes, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Andrew R. Kaiser, Shami Chatterjee, Kevin Stovall, Joseph K. Swiggum, David L. Kaplan, Cherry Ng, Ross J. Jennings, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Paul R. Brook, Xavier Siemens, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Joey Shapiro Key, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Adam Brazier, Megan E. DeCesar, Caitlin A. Witt, Emmanuel Fonseca, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Paul T. Baker, Neil J. Cornish, Bence Bécsy, Kathryn Crowter, Megan L. Jones, Paul S. Ray, Renée Spiewak, Deborah C. Good, Zaven Arzoumanian, Lina Levin, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Robert D. Ferdman, and Sarah J. Vigeland

Subjects
Physics, Supermassive black hole, Active galactic nucleus, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Binary number, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Orbital period, 01 natural sciences, Galaxy, Pulsar timing array, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

When galaxies merge, the supermassive black holes in their centers may form binaries and emit low-frequency gravitational radiation in the process. In this paper, we consider the galaxy 3C 66B, which was used as the target of the first multimessenger search for gravitational waves. Due to the observed periodicities present in the photometric and astrometric data of the source, it has been theorized to contain a supermassive black hole binary. Its apparent 1.05-year orbital period would place the gravitational-wave emission directly in the pulsar timing band. Since the first pulsar timing array study of 3C 66B, revised models of the source have been published, and timing array sensitivities and techniques have improved dramatically. With these advances, we further constrain the chirp mass of the potential supermassive black hole binary in 3C 66B to less than (1.65 ± 0.02) × 109 M ⊙ using data from the NANOGrav 11-year data set. This upper limit provides a factor of 1.6 improvement over previous limits and a factor of 4.3 over the first search done. Nevertheless, the most recent orbital model for the source is still consistent with our limit from pulsar timing array data. In addition, we are able to quantify the improvement made by the inclusion of source properties gleaned from electromagnetic data over “blind” pulsar timing array searches. With these methods, it is apparent that it is not necessary to obtain exact a priori knowledge of the period of a binary to gain meaningful astrophysical inferences.

Published
2020

30. NANOGrav 11 yr Data Set: Evolution of Gravitational-wave Background Statistics

Author

Lina Levin, Scott M. Ransom, J. E. Turner, Jing Luo, D. R. Stinebring, I. H. Stairs, D. R. Lorimer, Peter A. Gentile, E. C. Ferrara, Joseph K. Swiggum, Paul Demorest, Deborah C. Good, A. M. Holgado, Adam Brazier, D. R. Madison, Robert D. Ferdman, R. van Haasteren, Paul R. Brook, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, J. M. Cordes, H. T. Cromartie, K. Islo, M. E. DeCesar, Fronefield Crawford, Nihan Pol, M. L. Jones, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Kevin Stovall, Timothy Dolch, N. Garver-Daniels, Andrea N. Lommen, Kathryn Crowter, Caitlin A. Witt, Andrew R. Kaiser, Paul S. Ray, E. A. Huerta, Sourav Chatterjee, Paul T. Baker, Cherry Ng, G. Jones, Xavier Siemens, David L. Kaplan, Neil J. Cornish, Ross J. Jennings, Joseph Simon, Michael T. Lam, Stephen Taylor, Joey Shapiro Key, Emmanuel Fonseca, Zaven Arzoumanian, Maura McLaughlin, Michele Vallisneri, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, T. J. W. Lazio, R. S. Lynch, Sarah J. Vigeland, Sean T. McWilliams, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, R. Spiewak, Wenbai Zhu, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, and J. A. Ellis

Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, Spectral index, Supermassive black hole, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Pulsar, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Colors of noise, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, Statistics, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Noise (radio)
Abstract

An ensemble of inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries should produce a stochastic background of very low frequency gravitational waves. This stochastic background is predicted to be a power law, with a spectral index of -2/3, and it should be detectable by a network of precisely timed millisecond pulsars, widely distributed on the sky. This paper reports a new "time slicing" analysis of the 11-year data release from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) using 34 millisecond pulsars. Methods to flag potential "false positive" signatures are developed, including techniques to identify responsible pulsars. Mitigation strategies are then presented. We demonstrate how an incorrect noise model can lead to spurious signals, and show how independently modeling noise across 30 Fourier components, spanning NANOGrav's frequency range, effectively diagnoses and absorbs the excess power in gravitational-wave searches. This results in a nominal, and expected, progression of our gravitational-wave statistics. Additionally we show that the first interstellar medium event in PSR J1713+0747 pollutes the common red noise process with low-spectral index noise, and use a tailored noise model to remove these effects., 14 pages, 13 figures, fixed typo in abstract of earlier version

Published
2020

31. The NANOGrav 11 yr Data Set: Limits on Gravitational Wave Memory

Author

A. M. Holgado, K. Islo, Timothy Dolch, Glenn Jones, Nihan Pol, Paul R. Brook, Renée Spiewak, R. van Haasteren, Stephen Taylor, Ryan S. Lynch, Scott M. Ransom, Megan E. DeCesar, Caitlin A. Witt, J. Luo, Adam Brazier, Emmanuel Fonseca, Sean T. McWilliams, Cherry Ng, Peter A. Gentile, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Xavier Siemens, Ross J. Jennings, Robert D. Ferdman, David L. Kaplan, Paul Demorest, Duncan R. Lorimer, Fronefield Crawford, Shami Chatterjee, Kevin Stovall, Kathryn Crowter, Zaven Arzoumanian, Neil J. Cornish, Megan L. Jones, Paul S. Ray, E. A. Huerta, N. Garver-Daniels, Joseph Simon, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Daniel R. Stinebring, Lina Levin, P. T. Baker, Joey Shapiro Key, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Maura McLaughlin, Michele Vallisneri, James M. Cordes, Michael T. Lam, Wenbai Zhu, Deborah C. Good, Joseph K. Swiggum, H. T. Cromartie, Sarah J. Vigeland, D. R. Madison, Kshitij Aggarwal, J. A. Ellis, Ingrid H. Stairs, Luke Zoltan Kelley, and T. J. W. Lazio

Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, Supermassive black hole, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Gravitational wave, media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitation, Amplitude, Pulsar, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Millisecond pulsar, Observatory, Sky, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, media_common
Abstract

The mergers of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) promise to be incredible sources of gravitational waves (GWs). While the oscillatory part of the merger gravitational waveform will be outside the frequency sensitivity range of pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), the non-oscillatory GW memory effect is detectable. Further, any burst of gravitational waves will produce GW memory, making memory a useful probe of unmodeled exotic sources and new physics. We searched the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) 11-year data set for GW memory. This dataset is sensitive to very low frequency GWs of $\sim3$ to $400$ nHz (periods of $\sim11$ yr $-$ $1$ mon). Finding no evidence for GWs, we placed limits on the strain amplitude of GW memory events during the observation period. We then used the strain upper limits to place limits on the rate of GW memory causing events. At a strain of $2.5\times10^{-14}$, corresponding to the median upper limit as a function of source sky position, we set a limit on the rate of GW memory events at $, Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ

Published
2020

32. A pulsar-based time-scale from the International Pulsar Timing Array

Author

Sourav Chatterjee, Daniel J. Reardon, Ismaël Cognard, Gemma H. Janssen, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Zaven Arzoumanian, Michael T. Lam, Kejia Lee, Michael Kramer, Benetge Perera, J. B. Wang, L. Guo, Renée Spiewak, Ryan Shannon, David J. Nice, Richard N. Manchester, N. D. R. Bhat, D. Matsakis, E. Graikou, Joseph Simon, Ingrid H. Stairs, R. N. Caballero, Shi Dai, Matthew Bailes, Christopher J. Russell, Alberto Sesana, Robert D. Ferdman, Lucas Guillemot, Delphine Perrodin, Xing-Jiang Zhu, Andrew Lyne, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, C. G. Bassa, Benjamin Stappers, A. Brazier, R. van Haasteren, Timothy T. Pennucci, J. W. McKee, Yue-Fei Wang, Maura McLaughlin, Michael Keith, L. Toomey, Matthew Kerr, William A. Coles, Timothy Dolch, Stefan Oslowski, M. L. Tong, Stephen Taylor, D. J. Champion, Kang Liu, S. A. Sanidas, George Hobbs, J. K. Swiggum, Gregory Desvignes, Gilles Theureau, A. Possenti, T. J. W. Lazio, R. S. Lynch, G. Shaifullah, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Univers et Théories (LUTH (UMR_8102)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Hobbs, G, Guo, L, Caballero, R, Coles, W, Lee, K, Manchester, R, Reardon, D, Matsakis, D, Tong, M, Arzoumanian, Z, Bailes, M, Bassa, C, Bhat, N, Brazier, A, Burke-Spolaor, S, Champion, D, Chatterjee, S, Cognard, I, Dai, S, Desvignes, G, Dolch, T, Ferdman, R, Graikou, E, Guillemot, L, Janssen, G, Keith, M, Kerr, M, Kramer, M, Lam, M, Liu, K, Lyne, A, Lazio, T, Lynch, R, Mckee, J, Mclaughlin, M, Mingarelli, C, Nice, D, Osłowski, S, Pennucci, T, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Possenti, A, Russell, C, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Shannon, R, Simon, J, Spiewak, R, Stairs, I, Stappers, B, Swiggum, J, Taylor, S, Theureau, G, Toomey, L, van Haasteren, R, Wang, J, Wang, Y, Zhu, X, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, DEU, AUS, CAN, NLD, CHN, and HUN

Subjects
Astronomy, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Stability (probability), general [pulsars], Pulsar, Millisecond pulsar, Observatory, pulsars: general, 0103 physical sciences, [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-INS-DET]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Instrumentation and Detectors [physics.ins-det], Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, time, Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Spectral density, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Atomic clock, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Noise (radio), Astronomical and Space Sciences
Abstract

We have constructed a new timescale, TT(IPTA16), based on observations of radio pulsars presented in the first data release from the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We used two analysis techniques with independent estimates of the noise models for the pulsar observations and different algorithms for obtaining the pulsar timescale. The two analyses agree within the estimated uncertainties and both agree with TT(BIPM17), a post-corrected timescale produced by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). We show that both methods could detect significant errors in TT(BIPM17) if they were present. We estimate the stability of the atomic clocks from which TT(BIPM17) is derived using observations of four rubidium fountain clocks at the US Naval Observatory. Comparing the power spectrum of TT(IPTA16) with that of these fountain clocks suggests that pulsar-based timescales are unlikely to contribute to the stability of the best timescales over the next decade, but they will remain a valuable independent check on atomic timescales. We also find that the stability of the pulsar-based timescale is likely to be limited by our knowledge of solar-system dynamics, and that errors in TT(BIPM17) will not be a limiting factor for the primary goal of the IPTA, which is to search for the signatures of nano-Hertz gravitational waves., Comment: accepted by MNRAS

Published
2020
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33. The NANOGrav 12.5-year Data Set: Wideband Timing of 47 Millisecond Pulsars

Author

Cherry Ng, Yhamil Garcia, Xavier Siemens, Jing Luo, Robert D. Ferdman, Timothy Dolch, Jordan A. Gusdorff, Paul Demorest, Joseph Simon, Duncan R. Lorimer, Joshua Ramette, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Keeisi Caballero, Emmanuel Fonseca, Justin A. Ellis, Megan E. Decesar, Fronefield Crawford, Scott M. Ransom, David J. Nice, Maura McLaughlin, Shami Chatterjee, Ryan S. Lynch, Megan L. Jones, Kevin Stovall, Cody Jessup, Paul S. Ray, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, D. R. Madison, Joey Shapiro Key, Daniel Halmrast, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Daniel R. Stinebring, Caitlin A. Witt, Andrew R. Kaiser, Timothy T. Pennucci, Peter A. Gentile, Renée Spiewak, Faisal Alam, Michael T. Lam, Rachel L. Chamberlain, Michael Tripepi, Paul T. Baker, Harsha Blumer, David L. Kaplan, Ross J. Jennings, Benjamin M. X. Nguyen, Deborah C. Good, Stephen Taylor, Zaven Arzoumanian, James M. Cordes, Richard Camuccio, Neil J. Cornish, Keith E. Bohler, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, K. Islo, Paul R. Brook, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, H. Thankful Cromartie, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Michele Vallisneri, Nihan Pol, William Fiore, Weiwei Zhu, Joseph K. Swiggum, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Kaleb Maraccini, Adam Brazier, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Sarah J. Vigeland, and Ingrid H. Stairs

Subjects
Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Data set, Pulsar timing array, Narrowband, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Observatory, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, Wideband, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Abstract

We present a new analysis of the profile data from the 47 millisecond pulsars comprising the 12.5-year data set of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), which is presented in a parallel paper (Alam et al. 2021a; NG12.5). Our reprocessing is performed using "wideband" timing methods, which use frequency-dependent template profiles, simultaneous time-of-arrival (TOA) and dispersion measure (DM) measurements from broadband observations, and novel analysis techniques. In particular, the wideband DM measurements are used to constrain the DM portion of the timing model. We compare the ensemble timing results to NG12.5 by examining the timing residuals, timing models, and noise model components. There is a remarkable level of agreement across all metrics considered. Our best-timed pulsars produce encouragingly similar results to those from NG12.5. In certain cases, such as high-DM pulsars with profile broadening, or sources that are weak and scintillating, wideband timing techniques prove to be beneficial, leading to more precise timing model parameters by 10-15%. The high-precision, multi-band measurements of several pulsars indicate frequency-dependent DMs. Compared to the narrowband analysis in NG12.5, the TOA volume is reduced by a factor of 33, which may ultimately facilitate computational speed-ups for complex pulsar timing array analyses. This first wideband pulsar timing data set is a stepping stone, and its consistent results with NG12.5 assure us that such data sets are appropriate for gravitational wave analyses., Comment: 62 pages, 55 figures, 5 tables, 3 appendices. Data available at http://nanograv.org/data/ and via DOI 10.5281/zenodo.4312887

Published
2020
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34. Accelerated orbital decay of supermassive black hole binaries in merging nuclear star clusters

Author

Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Oliver Hahn, Marta Volonteri, Go Ogiya, Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, and Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
black hole physics, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Orbital decay, 01 natural sciences, methods: numerical, Gravitation, 0103 physical sciences, 010306 general physics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, galaxies: kinematics and dynamics, Physics, Supermassive black hole, Gravitational wave, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mass ratio, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Stars, Star cluster, gravitational waves, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), galaxies: star clusters: general, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract

The coalescence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) should generate the strongest sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the Universe. However, the dynamics of their coalescence is the subject of much debate. In this study, we use a suite of $N$-body simulations to follow the merger of two nuclear star clusters (NSCs), each hosting a SMBH in their centre. We find that the presence of distinct star clusters around each SMBH has important consequences for the dynamical evolution of the SMBH binary: (i) The separation between the SMBHs decreases by a few orders of magnitude in the first few Myrs by the combined effects of dynamical friction and a drag force caused by tidally stripped stars. In fact, this is a significant speedup for equal mass ratio binaries, and becomes extreme for unequal mass ratios, e.g. 1:10 or 1:100, which traditional dynamical friction alone would not permit to bind. (ii) The subsequent binary hardening is driven by the gravitational slingshots between the SMBH binary and stars, and also depends on the mass ratio between the SMBHs. Thus, with this additional drag force, we find that all SMBHs in our suite coalesce within a Hubble time. Given that about 50% of Milky Way sized galaxies host NSCs, our results are encouraging for upcoming GW observations with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna -- LISA -- which will detect SMBH coalescence in the $10^4-10^7$$M_{\rm \odot}$ mass range., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables and appendices, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2020
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35. Fisher formalism for anisotropic gravitational-wave background searches with pulsar timing arrays

Author

Tristan L. Smith, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, and Yacine Ali-Haïmoud

Subjects
Physics, Supermassive black hole, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Isotropy, Magnetic monopole, FOS: Physical sciences, Probability and statistics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Theoretical physics, Pulsar, Physics - Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability, 0103 physical sciences, 010306 general physics, Anisotropy, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an)
Abstract

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are currently the only experiments directly sensitive to gravitational waves with decade-long periods. Within the next five to ten years, PTAs are expected to detect the stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) collectively sourced by inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries. It is expected that this background is mostly isotropic, and current searches focus on the monopole part of the SGWB. Looking ahead, anisotropies in the SGWB may provide a trove of additional information both on known and unknown astrophysical and cosmological sources. In this paper, we build a simple yet realistic Fisher formalism for anisotropic SGWB searches with PTAs. Our formalism is able to accommodate realistic properties of PTAs, and allows simple and accurate forecasts. We illustrate our approach with an idealized PTA consisting of identical, isotropically distributed pulsars. In a companion paper, we apply our formalism to current PTAs and show that it can be a powerful tool to guide and optimize real data analysis., Comment: Version accepted for publication in PRD after minor changes. Follow-up paper on applications: arXiv:2010.13958

Published
2020
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36. Multimessenger pulsar timing array constraints on supermassive black hole binaries traced by periodic light curves

Author

Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, and Chengcheng Xin

Subjects
Physics, Supermassive black hole, Active galactic nucleus, Gravitational wave, 05 social sciences, 050301 education, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Light curve, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, 01 natural sciences, Gravitational-wave astronomy, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Galaxy, Pulsar timing array, Space and Planetary Science, Millisecond pulsar, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0503 education
Abstract

Supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHBs) emitting gravitational waves may be traced by periodic light curves. We assembled a catalog of 149 such periodic light curves, and using their masses, distances, and periods, predicted the gravitational-wave strain and detectability of each binary candidate using all-sky detection maps. We found that the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) provides almost uniform sky coverage -- a unique ability of the IPTA -- and by 2025 will improve NANOGrav's current minimum detectable strain by a factor of 6, and its volume by a factor of 216. Moreover, IPTA will reach detection sensitivities for three candidates by 2025, and 13 by the end of the decade, enabling us to constrain the underlying empirical relations used to estimate SMBH masses. We find that we can in fact already constrain the mass of a binary in Mrk 504 to $M, 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Published
2020
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37. The NANOGrav 12.5 yr Data Set: Observations and Narrowband Timing of 47 Millisecond Pulsars

Author

Benjamin M. X. Nguyen, Yhamil Garcia, Jordan A. Gusdorff, Paul R. Brook, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Rachel L. Chamberlain, Paul Demorest, Scott M. Ransom, Fronefield Crawford, Timothy Dolch, Stephen Taylor, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Joshua Ramette, Shami Chatterjee, Kevin Stovall, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Robert D. Ferdman, Nathan Garver-Daniels, William Fiore, Peter A. Gentile, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Harsha Blumer, Cody Jessup, Kaleb Maraccini, Caitlin A. Witt, Joseph K. Swiggum, David L. Kaplan, Daniel Halmrast, Paul S. Ray, H. Thankful Cromartie, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, James M. Cordes, D. R. Madison, Cherry Ng, Daniel R. Stinebring, Sarah J. Vigeland, Joseph Simon, Renée Spiewak, Deborah C. Good, Xavier Siemens, Faisal Alam, Keith E. Bohler, Michael T. Lam, Ryan S. Lynch, Ingrid H. Stairs, Megan E. Decesar, Justin A. Ellis, Emmanuel Fonseca, Maura McLaughlin, Keeisi Caballero, Weiwei Zhu, Joey Shapiro Key, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Duncan R. Lorimer, Paul T. Baker, Richard Camuccio, Neil J. Cornish, Ross J. Jennings, Jing Luo, Andrew R. Kaiser, Megan L. Jones, K. Islo, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Nihan Pol, Michael Tripepi, Adam Brazier, Zaven Arzoumanian, and Michele Vallisneri

Subjects
Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrometry, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Shapiro delay, Binary pulsar, Pulsar, Space and Planetary Science, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, Arecibo Observatory, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Radio astronomy
Abstract

We present time-of-arrival (TOA) measurements and timing models of 47 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed from 2004 to 2017 at the Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). The observing cadence was three to four weeks for most pulsars over most of this time span, with weekly observations of six sources. These data were collected for use in low-frequency gravitational wave searches and for other astrophysical purposes. We detail our observational methods and present a set of TOA measurements, based on "narrowband" analysis, in which many TOAs are calculated within narrow radio-frequency bands for data collected simultaneously across a wide bandwidth. A separate set of "wideband" TOAs will be presented in a companion paper. We detail a number of methodological changes compared to our previous work which yield a cleaner and more uniformly processed data set. Our timing models include several new astrometric and binary pulsar measurements, including previously unpublished values for the parallaxes of PSRs J1832-0836 and J2322+2057, the secular derivatives of the projected semi-major orbital axes of PSRs J0613-0200 and J2229+2643, and the first detection of the Shapiro delay in PSR J2145-0750. We report detectable levels of red noise in the time series for 14 pulsars. As a check on timing model reliability, we investigate the stability of astrometric parameters across data sets of different lengths. We report flux density measurements for all pulsars observed. Searches for stochastic and continuous gravitational waves using these data will be subjects of forthcoming publications., Comment: 54 pages, 52 figures, 7 tables, 1 appendix. Data are available at http://nanograv.org/data/ and via the DOI 10.5281/zenodo.4312297

Published
2020
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38. A Quasar-based Supermassive Black Hole Binary Population Model: Implications for the Gravitational Wave Background

Author

J. Andrew Casey-Clyde, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Jenny E. Greene, Kris Pardo, Morgan Nañez, and Andy D. Goulding

Subjects
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

The nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB) is believed to be dominated by GW emission from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs). Observations of several dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) strongly suggest a link between AGN and SMBHBs, given that these dual AGN systems will eventually form bound binary pairs. Here we develop an exploratory SMBHB population model based on empirically constrained quasar populations, allowing us to decompose the GWB amplitude into an underlying distribution of SMBH masses, SMBHB number density, and volume enclosing the GWB. Our approach also allows us to self-consistently predict the number of local SMBHB systems from the GWB amplitude. Interestingly, we find the local number density of SMBHBs implied by the common-process signal in the NANOGrav 12.5-yr dataset to be roughly five times larger than previously predicted by other models. We also find that at most $\sim 25 \%$ of SMBHBs can be associated with quasars. Furthermore, our quasar-based approach predicts $\gtrsim 95\%$ of the GWB signal comes from $z \lesssim 2.5$, and that SMBHBs contributing to the GWB have masses $\gtrsim 10^8 M_\odot$. We also explore how different empirical galaxy-black hole scaling relations affect the local number density of GW sources, and find that relations predicting more massive black holes decrease the local number density of SMBHBs. Overall, our results point to the important role that a measurement of the GWB will play in directly constraining the cosmic population of SMBHBs, as well as their connections to quasars and galaxy mergers., 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 appendix, accepted for publication in ApJ

Published
2022
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39. Probing supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing

Author

Chiara M. F. Mingarelli

Subjects
Physics, Supermassive black hole, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Galaxy merger, 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Merge (version control), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

The detection of a gravitational-wave background at nanohertz frequencies can tell us if and how supermassive black holes merge, and inform our knowledge of galaxy merger rates and supermassive black hole masses. All we have to do is time pulsars.

Published
2019
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40. Discovery of a close-separation binary quasar at the heart of a z~0.2 merging galaxy and its implications for low-frequency gravitational waves

Author

Jenny E. Greene, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Kris Pardo, Andy D. Goulding, Michael A. Strauss, and Kristina Nyland

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Population, FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, Supermassive black hole, education.field_of_study, Gravitational wave, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Billion years, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract

Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries with masses of ~10^8--10^9 Msun are expected to dominate the contribution to the as-yet undetected gravitational wave background (GWB) signal at the nanohertz frequencies accessible to Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTA). We currently lack firm empirical constraints on the amplitude of the GWB due to the dearth of confirmed SMBH binaries in the required mass range. Using HST/WFC3 images, we have discovered a z~0.2 quasar hosted in a merger remnant with two closely separated (0.13'' or ~430pc) continuum cores at the heart of the galaxy SDSSJ1010+1413. The two cores are spatially coincident with two powerful [OIII]-emitting point sources with quasar-like luminosities (L_AGN ~ 5x10^46 erg/s, suggesting the presence of a bound SMBH system, each with M_BH > 4x10^8 Msun. We place an upper limit on the merging timescale of the SMBH pair of 2.5 billion years, roughly the Universe lookback time at z~0.2. There is likely a population of quasar binaries similar to SDSSJ1010+1413 that contribute to a stochastic GWB that should be detected in the next several years. If the GWB is not detected this could indicate that SMBHs merge only over extremely long timescales, remaining as close separation binaries for many Hubble times, the so-called `final-parsec problem'., Accepted to ApJL (in press), 9 pages, 5 figures

Published
2019

41. Constraining Galactic structure with the LISA white dwarf foreground

Author

Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Katelyn Breivik, and Shane L. Larson

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Milky Way, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Population, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Compact star, 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Luminosity, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, education.field_of_study, Gravitational wave, White dwarf, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Scale height, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Galaxy, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract

White dwarfs comprise 95% of all stellar remnants, and are thus an excellent tracer of old stellar populations in the Milky Way. Current and planned telescopes are not able to directly probe the white dwarf population in its entirety due to its inherently low luminosity. However, the Galactic population of double white dwarf binaries gives rise to a millihertz gravitational-wave foreground detectable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Here we show how characterizing this foreground's angular power spectrum will enable us to probe the Galactic structure in a novel way and measure the vertical scale height of the Galaxy's oldest stellar populations. We do this using a binary population synthesis study that incorporates different Galactic spatial distributions for the double white dwarf population. We find that the level of anisotropy in the white dwarf foreground's angular power spectrum is strongly dependent on the vertical scale height of the population. Finally, we show that LISA can probe the vertical scale height of the Galactic double white dwarf population with an accuracy of 50 pc-200pc, depending on angular resolution limits, using the angular power spectrum of the white dwarf foreground., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures; reflects manuscript accepted in ApJ

Published
2019
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42. The International Pulsar Timing Array: Second data release

Author

Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Robert D. Ferdman, Stephen Taylor, Lei Zhang, Janna Goldstein, Caterina Tiburzi, Alberto Sesana, Ingrid H. Stairs, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, N. D. R. Bhat, Benetge Perera, Aditya Parthasarathy, Michael Kramer, H. Hu, Richard N. Manchester, Joseph Simon, L. Lentati, Matthew Kerr, Shi Dai, R. N. Caballero, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul Demorest, A. Possenti, Xing-Jiang Zhu, Kathryn Crowter, Weiwei Zhu, C. G. Bassa, Emmanuel Fonseca, Kejia Lee, Scott M. Ransom, Michael Keith, Stefan Oslowski, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, D. J. Champion, Ramesh Karuppusamy, David J. Nice, Andrew Lyne, Timothy T. Pennucci, Timothy Dolch, J. K. Swiggum, Benjamin Stappers, K. Islo, Lucas Guillemot, Michele Vallisneri, J. B. Wang, X. Siemens, Gregory Desvignes, Gilles Theureau, James M. Cordes, Ismaël Cognard, Renée Spiewak, Siyuan Chen, Jing Luo, S. A. Sanidas, P. T. Baker, A. Brazier, Songbo Zhang, Alberto Vecchio, George Hobbs, Delphine Perrodin, Michael T. Lam, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, M. Burgay, Daniel J. Reardon, Zaven Arzoumanian, G. Shaifullah, J. W. McKee, Maura McLaughlin, Christopher J. Russell, Sourav Chatterjee, Kang Liu, Matthew Bailes, Gemma H. Janssen, Ryan Shannon, E. Graikou, Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Univers et Théories (LUTH (UMR_8102)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Perera, B, Decesar, M, Demorest, P, Kerr, M, Lentati, L, Nice, D, Osłowski, S, Ransom, S, Keith, M, Arzoumanian, Z, Bailes, M, Baker, P, Bassa, C, Bhat, N, Brazier, A, Burgay, M, Burke-Spolaor, S, Caballero, R, Champion, D, Chatterjee, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Cordes, J, Crowter, K, Dai, S, Desvignes, G, Dolch, T, Ferdman, R, Ferrara, E, Fonseca, E, Goldstein, J, Graikou, E, Guillemot, L, Hazboun, J, Hobbs, G, Hu, H, Islo, K, Janssen, G, Karuppusamy, R, Kramer, M, Lam, M, Lee, K, Liu, K, Luo, J, Lyne, A, Manchester, R, Mckee, J, Mclaughlin, M, Mingarelli, C, Parthasarathy, A, Pennucci, T, Perrodin, D, Possenti, A, Reardon, D, Russell, C, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Shannon, R, Siemens, X, Simon, J, Spiewak, R, Stairs, I, Stappers, B, Swiggum, J, Taylor, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Vallisneri, M, Vecchio, A, Wang, J, Zhang, S, Zhang, L, Zhu, W, Zhu, X, Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Franche-Comté (UFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), and PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Ephemeris, 01 natural sciences, Pulsar timing array, stars: neutron, neutron [stars], Pulsar, Millisecond pulsar, Observatory, pulsars: general, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, methods: data analysis, European Pulsar Timing Array, gravitational waves, Space and Planetary Science, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], pulsars, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Noise (radio), Methods: data analysi
Abstract

In this paper, we describe the International Pulsar Timing Array second data release, which includes recent pulsar timing data obtained by three regional consortia: the European Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. We analyse and where possible combine high-precision timing data for 65 millisecond pulsars which are regularly observed by these groups. A basic noise analysis, including the processes which are both correlated and uncorrelated in time, provides noise models and timing ephemerides for the pulsars. We find that the timing precisions of pulsars are generally improved compared to the previous data release, mainly due to the addition of new data in the combination. The main purpose of this work is to create the most up-to-date IPTA data release. These data are publicly available for searches for low-frequency gravitational waves and other pulsar science., Comment: Submitted to MNRAS and in review, 23 pages, 5 figures

Published
2019
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43. High-precision timing of 42 millisecond pulsars with the European Pulsar Timing Array

Author

P. Lazarus, R. van Haasteren, Christine Jordan, Pablo Rosado, Jason W. T. Hessels, S. Babak, Alberto Sesana, Joris P. W. Verbiest, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Benjamin Stappers, A. Jessner, D. J. Champion, J. W. McKee, J. R. Gair, Lucas Guillemot, Delphine Perrodin, Antoine Petiteau, P. Brem, Michael Kramer, Ramesh Karuppusamy, Andrew Lyne, Ismaël Cognard, Gregory Desvignes, Gilles Theureau, Kejia Lee, G. Shaifullah, E. Graikou, M. Burgay, Stefan Oslowski, M. B. Purver, Caterina Tiburzi, R. Smits, K. Lazaridis, Stephen Taylor, R. N. Caballero, Kang Liu, C. G. Bassa, A. Lassus, Gemma H. Janssen, Alberto Vecchio, S. Sanidas, L. Lentati, A. Possenti, Desvignes, G, Caballero, R, Lentati, L, Verbiest, J, Champion, D, Stappers, B, Janssen, G, Lazarus, P, Osłowski, S, Babak, S, Bassa, C, Brem, P, Burgay, M, Cognard, I, Gair, J, Graikou, E, Guillemot, L, Hessels, J, Jessner, A, Jordan, C, Karuppusamy, R, Kramer, M, Lassus, A, Lazaridis, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Mingarelli, C, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Possenti, A, Purver, M, Rosado, P, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Smits, R, Taylor, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, van Haasteren, R, Vecchio, A, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM), Universität Bielefeld, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy ( ASTRON ), Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari (OAC), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics [Beijing] (KIAA-PKU), Peking University [Beijing], APC - Gravitation (APC-Gravitation), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing [Swinburne] (CAS), Swinburne University of Technology [Melbourne], Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Theoretical Astrophysics [Pasadena] (TAPIR), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Birmingham City University (BCU), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.11373011)., European Project: 337062,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-StG,DRAGNET(2014), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy [Pasadena], California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), and High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI)

Subjects
astro-ph.SR, FOS: Physical sciences, Proper motion, Astrophysics, Magnetar, 01 natural sciences, Radio spectrum, Radio telescope, Pulsar timing array, proper motions, Pulsar, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), Stars: Distance, astro-ph.HE, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Pulsars: General, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, pulsars:general, European Pulsar Timing Array, Neutron star, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science, stars: distances, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, stars:distances, astro-ph.IM
Abstract

We report on the high-precision timing of 42 radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed by the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). This EPTA Data Release 1.0 extends up to mid-2014 and baselines range from 7-18 years. It forms the basis for the stochastic gravitational-wave background, anisotropic background, and continuous-wave limits recently presented by the EPTA elsewhere. The Bayesian timing analysis performed with TempoNest yields the detection of several new parameters: seven parallaxes, nine proper motions and, in the case of six binary pulsars, an apparent change of the semi-major axis. We find the NE2001 Galactic electron density model to be a better match to our parallax distances (after correction from the Lutz-Kelker bias) than the M2 and M3 models by Schnitzeler (2012). However, we measure an average uncertainty of 80\% (fractional) for NE2001, three times larger than what is typically assumed in the literature. We revisit the transverse velocity distribution for a set of 19 isolated and 57 binary MSPs and find no statistical difference between these two populations. We detect Shapiro delay in the timing residuals of PSRs J1600$-$3053 and J1918$-$0642, implying pulsar and companion masses $m_p=1.22_{-0.35}^{+0.5} \text{M}_{\odot}$, $m_c = 0.21_{-0.04}^{+0.06} \text{M}_{\odot }$ and $m_p=1.25_{-0.4}^{+0.6} \text{M}_{\odot}$, $m_c = 0.23_{-0.05}^{+0.07} \text{M}_{\odot }$, respectively. Finally, we use the measurement of the orbital period derivative to set a stringent constraint on the distance to PSRs J1012$+$5307 and J1909$-$3744, and set limits on the longitude of ascending node through the search of the annual-orbital parallax for PSRs J1600$-$3053 and J1909$-$3744., Comment: 42 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2016
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44. From spin noise to systematics: stochastic processes in the first International Pulsar Timing Array data release

Author

R. van Haasteren, Scott M. Ransom, S. Babak, Antoine Petiteau, Paul Demorest, L. Toomey, Gemma H. Janssen, Alberto Sesana, Marjorie Gonzalez, Sourav Chatterjee, A. Lassus, Ryan Shannon, Justin A. Ellis, Glenn Jones, E. Graikou, J. W. McKee, Kang Liu, Kejia Lee, Matthew Kerr, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, William A. Coles, Maura McLaughlin, G. Shaifullah, Stephen Taylor, Weiwei Zhu, P. Lazarus, S. A. Sanidas, D. J. Champion, Delphine Perrodin, R. N. Caballero, Kevin Stovall, Joris P. W. Verbiest, Benetge Perera, Richard N. Manchester, C. G. Bassa, Emmanuel Fonseca, Jonathan R. Gair, George Hobbs, D. R. Madison, R. Smits, Alberto Vecchio, Daniel R. Stinebring, Michael T. Lam, Daniel J. Reardon, X. P. You, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul D. Lasky, Yue-Fei Wang, Lucas Guillemot, R. S. Lynch, Pablo Rosado, Lina Levin, Xing-Jiang Zhu, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, L. Lentati, Benjamin Stappers, A. Possenti, T. J. W. Lazio, Robert D. Ferdman, Stefan Oslowski, J. K. Swiggum, X. Siemens, Gregory Desvignes, Gilles Theureau, Ramesh Karuppusamy, Ismaël Cognard, M. Burgay, Timothy T. Pennucci, Michele Vallisneri, J. B. Wang, James M. Cordes, Sean T. McWilliams, David J. Nice, P. Brem, W. van Straten, Caterina Tiburzi, N. D. R. Bhat, Shi Dai, Jason W. T. Hessels, Ingrid H. Stairs, Timothy Dolch, Michael Kramer, Michael Keith, Lentati, L, Shannon, R, Coles, W, Verbiest, J, van Haasteren, R, Ellis, J, Caballero, R, Manchester, R, Arzoumanian, Z, Babak, S, Bassa, C, Bhat, N, Brem, P, Burgay, M, Burke-Spolaor, S, Champion, D, Chatterjee, S, Cognard, I, Cordes, J, Dai, S, Demorest, P, Desvignes, G, Dolch, T, Ferdman, R, Fonseca, E, Gair, J, Gonzalez, M, Graikou, E, Guillemot, L, Hessels, J, Hobbs, G, Janssen, G, Jones, G, Karuppusamy, R, Keith, M, Kerr, M, Kramer, M, Lam, M, Lasky, P, Lassus, A, Lazarus, P, Lazio, T, Lee, K, Levin, L, Liu, K, Lynch, R, Madison, D, Mckee, J, Mclaughlin, M, Mcwilliams, S, Mingarelli, C, Nice, D, Osłowski, S, Pennucci, T, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Possenti, A, Ransom, S, Reardon, D, Rosado, P, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Siemens, X, Smits, R, Stairs, I, Stappers, B, Stinebring, D, Stovall, K, Swiggum, J, Taylor, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Toomey, L, Vallisneri, M, van Straten, W, Vecchio, A, Wang, J, Wang, Y, You, X, Zhu, W, Zhu, X, High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM), CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), University of California, University of California (UC), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Curtin University [Perth], Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC), INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari (OAC), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Center for Radiophysics and Space Research [Ithaca] (CRSR), Cornell University [New York], Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Department of Astronomy [Ithaca], Department of Physics, Hillsdale College, Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver Coastal Health, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy ( ASTRON ), ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoralCoE), James Cook University (JCU), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre (VUMC), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (VU), Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics [Beijing] (KIAA-PKU), Peking University [Beijing], National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Green Bank] (NRAO), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), Department of Physics, West Virginia University, West Virginia University, Theoretical Astrophysics [Pasadena] (TAPIR), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Physics Department, Lafayette College, Lafayette College [Easton], Department of Astronomy [Charlottesville], University of Virginia, APC - Gravitation (APC-Gravitation), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing [Swinburne] (CAS), Swinburne University of Technology [Melbourne], Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Oberlin], Oberlin College, Institute of Meteoritics [Albuquerque] (IOM), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, West Virginia University [Morgantown], Birmingham City University (BCU), Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] (CAS), Huazhong University of Science and Technology [Wuhan] (HUST), School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest University [Chongqing], Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP140102578NASA through Einstein Fellowship grant PF3-140116West Light Foundation of CAS XBBS201322 and NSFC project no.11403086National Science Fundation of China (NSFC) award number 11503007NNSF of China (U1231120) and FRFCU (XDJK2015B012), European Project: 337062,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-StG,DRAGNET(2014), European Project: 227947,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2008-AdG,LEAP(2009), European Project: 610058,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-SyG,BLACKHOLECAM(2014), Cornell University, Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy [Pasadena], California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), University of Virginia [Charlottesville], Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI)

Subjects
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, data analysis, pulsars: general [methods], FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Methods: Data analysi, Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, general [pulsars], 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, pulsars:individual, Binary pulsar, Pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, data analysis [methods], Coherence (signal processing), Sensitivity (control systems), Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Stochastic process, Noise (signal processing), Model selection, Pulsars: General, Astronomy and Astrophysics, methods: data analysis, LIGO, Computational physics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astronomical and Space Sciences
Abstract

We analyse the stochastic properties of the 49 pulsars that comprise the first International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) data release. We use Bayesian methodology, performing model selection to determine the optimal description of the stochastic signals present in each pulsar. In addition to spin-noise and dispersion-measure (DM) variations, these models can include timing noise unique to a single observing system, or frequency band. We show the improved radio-frequency coverage and presence of overlapping data from different observing systems in the IPTA data set enables us to separate both system and band-dependent effects with much greater efficacy than in the individual PTA data sets. For example, we show that PSR J1643$-$1224 has, in addition to DM variations, significant band-dependent noise that is coherent between PTAs which we interpret as coming from time-variable scattering or refraction in the ionised interstellar medium. Failing to model these different contributions appropriately can dramatically alter the astrophysical interpretation of the stochastic signals observed in the residuals. In some cases, the spectral exponent of the spin noise signal can vary from 1.6 to 4 depending upon the model, which has direct implications for the long-term sensitivity of the pulsar to a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. By using a more appropriate model, however, we can greatly improve a pulsar's sensitivity to GWs. For example, including system and band-dependent signals in the PSR J0437$-$4715 data set improves the upper limit on a fiducial GW background by $\sim 60\%$ compared to a model that includes DM variations and spin-noise only., Comment: 29 pages. 16 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2016
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45. The International Pulsar Timing Array: First data release

Author

Lucas Guillemot, Sourav Chatterjee, N. Garver-Daniels, D. R. Madison, Scott M. Ransom, J. K. Swiggum, Daniel R. Stinebring, Delphine Perrodin, Ingrid H. Stairs, Alberto Vecchio, Timothy Dolch, X. Siemens, Gregory Desvignes, Antoine Petiteau, Gilles Theureau, W. van Straten, J. B. Wang, X. P. You, Jason W. T. Hessels, Renée Spiewak, R. N. Caballero, Alberto Sesana, Stefan Oslowski, R. S. Lynch, Xing-Jiang Zhu, C. G. Bassa, Emmanuel Fonseca, Daniel J. Reardon, Yue-Fei Wang, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Benjamin Stappers, Kejia Lee, Stanislav Babak, Benetge Perera, Pablo Rosado, Zaven Arzoumanian, Richard N. Manchester, Paul Demorest, A. Brazier, Jonathan R. Gair, R. van Haasteren, Nipuni Palliyaguru, Lina Levin, R. Smits, Joseph Simon, P. Brem, Michele Vallisneri, Michael Kramer, James M. Cordes, Andrew Lyne, L. Lentati, Weiwei Zhu, Matthew Kerr, Peter A. Gentile, Michael Keith, A. Possenti, D. J. Champion, Caterina Tiburzi, T. J. W. Lazio, N. D. R. Bhat, A. Lassus, Stephen Taylor, Linqing Wen, Ryan Shannon, Glenn Jones, Shi Dai, E. Graikou, Gemma H. Janssen, S. J. Chamberlin, Kevin Stovall, Kang Liu, P. Lazarus, Ramesh Karuppusamy, S. A. Sanidas, Ismaël Cognard, George Hobbs, Robert D. Ferdman, Timothy T. Pennucci, M. Burgay, Sean T. McWilliams, David J. Nice, B. Christy, G. Shaifullah, L. Toomey, Justin A. Ellis, J. W. McKee, Maura McLaughlin, Paul D. Lasky, Michael T. Lam, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Joris P. W. Verbiest, Marjorie Gonzalez, High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI), Verbiest, J, Lentati, L, Hobbs, G, van Haasteren, R, Demorest, P, Janssen, G, Wang, J, Desvignes, G, Caballero, R, Keith, M, Champion, D, Arzoumanian, Z, Babak, S, Bassa, C, Bhat, N, Brazier, A, Brem, P, Burgay, M, Burke-Spolaor, S, Chamberlin, S, Chatterjee, S, Christy, B, Cognard, I, Cordes, J, Dai, S, Dolch, T, Ellis, J, Ferdman, R, Fonseca, E, Gair, J, Garver-Daniels, N, Gentile, P, Gonzalez, M, Graikou, E, Guillemot, L, Hessels, J, Jones, G, Karuppusamy, R, Kerr, M, Kramer, M, Lam, M, Lasky, P, Lassus, A, Lazarus, P, Lazio, T, Lee, K, Levin, L, Liu, K, Lynch, R, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Mclaughlin, M, Mcwilliams, S, Madison, D, Manchester, R, Mingarelli, C, Nice, D, Osłowski, S, Palliyaguru, N, Pennucci, T, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Possenti, A, Petiteau, A, Ransom, S, Reardon, D, Rosado, P, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Shannon, R, Siemens, X, Simon, J, Smits, R, Spiewak, R, Stairs, I, Stappers, B, Stinebring, D, Stovall, K, Swiggum, J, Taylor, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Toomey, L, Vallisneri, M, van Straten, W, Vecchio, A, Wang, Y, Wen, L, You, X, Zhu, W, Zhu, X, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge [UK] (CAM), CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Socorro] (NRAO), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] (CAS), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Curtin University [Perth], Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC), Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS), Cornell University [New York], INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari (OAC), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System, Center for Radiophysics and Space Research [Ithaca] (CRSR), University of Maryland [College Park], University of Maryland System, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Department of Astronomy [Ithaca], Department of Physics, Hillsdale College, University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Edinburgh, Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, West Virginia University [Morgantown], Vancouver Coastal Health, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University [New York], Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA), Monash University [Clayton], Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics [Beijing] (KIAA-PKU), Peking University [Beijing], National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Green Bank] (NRAO), Theoretical Astrophysics [Pasadena] (TAPIR), Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy [Pasadena], California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Physics Department, Lafayette College, Lafayette College [Easton], Physics Department, Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University [Lubbock] (TTU), Department of Astronomy [Charlottesville], University of Virginia [Charlottesville], APC - Gravitation (APC-Gravitation), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft-Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing [Swinburne] (CAS), Swinburne University of Technology [Melbourne], Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy ( ASTRON ), Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Oberlin], Oberlin College, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Albuquerque], The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Birmingham City University (BCU), School of Physics [HUST], Huazhong University of Science and Technology [Wuhan] (HUST), School of Physics (University of Western Australia), Université, School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest University [Chongqing], European Project: 337062,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-StG,DRAGNET(2014), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Cavendish Laboratory - University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge [UK] ( CAM ), CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, PO BOX 76, NSW 1710, Australia, Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ), NASA-California Institute of Technology ( CALTECH ), National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Socorro] ( NRAO ), National Radio Astronomy Observatory ( NRAO ), Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] ( CAS ), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center ( GSFC ), Albert Einstein Institute, Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science ( CCAPS ), Cornell University, MPI for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), INAF-Osservatorio di Cagliari, PennState University [Pennsylvania] ( PSU ), Center for Radiophysics and Space Research [Ithaca] ( CRSR ), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace ( LPC2E ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers ( INSU - CNRS ) -Université d'Orléans ( UO ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay ( USN ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers ( INSU - CNRS ) -Observatoire de Paris-Université d'Orléans ( UO ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), University of British Columbia ( UBC ), University of Edimburgh, Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Radio Astronomy Observatory [Green Bank] ( NRAO ), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] ( CSIRO ), TAPIR (Theoretical Astrophysics), California Institute of Technology, Texas Tech University [Lubbock] ( TTU ), Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Ist Nazl Astrofis, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, APC - Gravitation ( APC-Gravitation ), AstroParticule et Cosmologie ( APC - UMR 7164 ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS ( IN2P3 ) -Observatoire de Paris-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 ( UPD7 ) -Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives ( CEA ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS ( IN2P3 ) -Observatoire de Paris-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 ( UPD7 ) -Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives ( CEA ) -Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), Max-Planck-Institut-Max-Planck-Institut, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing [Swinburne] ( CAS ), Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Max Planck Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Albert Einstein Institut, Physics and Astronomy Department [Oberlin], Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, Birmingham City University ( BCU ), School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, School of Physics ( University of Western Australia ), European Project : 337062,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2013-StG,DRAGNET ( 2014 ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), University of Virginia, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, and PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik ( Albert-Einstein-Institut ) (AEI)

Subjects
data analysis, data analysis, pulsars: general [methods], FOS: Physical sciences, Methods: Data analysi, general [pulsars], 01 natural sciences, 7. Clean energy, Set (abstract data type), Pulsar timing array, Pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, data analysis [methods], Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, instrumentation, Physics, [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Pulsars: General, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, methods: data analysis, Data set, European Pulsar Timing Array, Neutron star, gravitational waves, Space and Planetary Science, pulsars, Measurement uncertainty, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, [ SDU.ASTR.SR ] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR], Algorithm, astro-ph.IM
Abstract

The highly stable spin of neutron stars can be exploited for a variety of (astro-)physical investigations. In particular arrays of pulsars with rotational periods of the order of milliseconds can be used to detect correlated signals such as those caused by gravitational waves. Three such "Pulsar Timing Arrays" (PTAs) have been set up around the world over the past decades and collectively form the "International" PTA (IPTA). In this paper, we describe the first joint analysis of the data from the three regional PTAs, i.e. of the first IPTA data set. We describe the available PTA data, the approach presently followed for its combination and suggest improvements for future PTA research. Particular attention is paid to subtle details (such as underestimation of measurement uncertainty and long-period noise) that have often been ignored but which become important in this unprecedentedly large and inhomogeneous data set. We identify and describe in detail several factors that complicate IPTA research and provide recommendations for future pulsar timing efforts. The first IPTA data release presented here (and available online) is used to demonstrate the IPTA's potential of improving upon gravitational-wave limits placed by individual PTAs by a factor of ~2 and provides a 2-sigma limit on the dimensionless amplitude of a stochastic GWB of 1.7x10^{-15} at a frequency of 1 yr^{-1}. This is 1.7 times less constraining than the limit placed by (Shannon et al. 2015), due mostly to the more recent, high-quality data they used., 25 pages, 6 tables, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2016
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46. The NANOGrav 12.5 yr Data Set: Search for an Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Harsha Blumer, D. R. Madison, Ryan S. Lynch, Paul Demorest, Deborah C. Good, Paul R. Brook, Megan L. Jones, Renée Spiewak, Paul T. Baker, Nathan Garver-Daniels, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Luke Zoltan Kelley, A. Miguel Holgado, Scott M. Ransom, Caitlin A. Witt, Neil J. Cornish, Nima Laal, Joseph Simon, Timothy T. Pennucci, Michele Vallisneri, Jing Luo, Siyuan Chen, Fronefield Crawford, Zaven Arzoumanian, Ross J. Jennings, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Joey Shapiro Key, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Shami Chatterjee, Cherry Ng, Adam Brazier, Jerry P. Sun, Kevin Stovall, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Sarah J. Vigeland, Xavier Siemens, James M. Cordes, William Fiore, Timothy Dolch, Joseph K. Swiggum, Peter A. Gentile, H. Thankful Cromartie, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Jacob E. Turner, Paul S. Ray, B. Bécsy, David J. Nice, David L. Kaplan, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Ingrid H. Stairs, K. Islo, Nihan Pol, Duncan R. Lorimer, Justin A. Ellis, Maura McLaughlin, Andrew R. Kaiser, Michael T. Lam, Megan E. DeCesar, Emmanuel Fonseca, Stephen Taylor, Daniel R. Stinebring, Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), NANOGrav, Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES)

Subjects
noise, gravitational radiation: stochastic, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, General relativity, Population, Astrophysics, Bayesian, 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Pulsar, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, general relativity, black hole, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, pulsar, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Physics, education.field_of_study, Gravitational wave, gravitational radiation: background, Astronomy and Astrophysics, solar system, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, observatory, Black hole, Amplitude, black hole: binary, [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Space and Planetary Science, correlation, slope, [PHYS.GRQC]Physics [physics]/General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology [gr-qc], spectral, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract

We search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) in the $12.5$-year pulsar timing data set collected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. Our analysis finds strong evidence of a stochastic process, modeled as a power-law, with common amplitude and spectral slope across pulsars. The Bayesian posterior of the amplitude for an $f^{-2/3}$ power-law spectrum, expressed as the characteristic GW strain, has median $1.92 \times 10^{-15}$ and $5\%$--$95\%$ quantiles of $1.37$--$2.67 \times 10^{-15}$ at a reference frequency of $f_\mathrm{yr} = 1 ~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. The Bayes factor in favor of the common-spectrum process versus independent red-noise processes in each pulsar exceeds $10,000$. However, we find no statistically significant evidence that this process has quadrupolar spatial correlations, which we would consider necessary to claim a GWB detection consistent with general relativity. We find that the process has neither monopolar nor dipolar correlations, which may arise from, for example, reference clock or solar system ephemeris systematics, respectively. The amplitude posterior has significant support above previously reported upper limits; we explain this in terms of the Bayesian priors assumed for intrinsic pulsar red noise. We examine potential implications for the supermassive black hole binary population under the hypothesis that the signal is indeed astrophysical in nature., Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, 3 appendices. Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Please send any comments/questions to Joseph Simon (joe.simon@nanograv.org). Jupyter notebook tutorials and some MCMC chain files are available at https://github.com/nanograv/12p5yr_stochastic_analysis

Published
2020
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47. The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: Solar Wind Sounding Through Pulsar Timing

Author

Timothy Dolch, Duncan R. Lorimer, Ryan S. Lynch, Cherry Ng, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Kathryn Crowter, Paul S. Ray, David J. Nice, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Timothy T. Pennucci, Paul Demorest, J. A. Ellis, M. L. Jones, Renée Spiewak, Ingrid H. Stairs, James M. Cordes, Shami Chatterjee, J. K. Swiggum, Zaven Arzoumanian, Kevin Stovall, Peter A. Gentile, Glenn Jones, Robert D. Ferdman, D. R. Madison, Weiwei Zhu, Michael T. Lam, Megan E. DeCesar, Emmanuel Fonseca, Maura McLaughlin, Scott M. Ransom, and Lina Levin

Subjects
Physics, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Total electron content, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Interstellar medium, Depth sounding, Solar wind, Pulsar, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Observatory, Millisecond pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, Physics::Space Physics, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has observed dozens of millisecond pulsars for over a decade. We have accrued a large collection of dispersion measure (DM) measurements sensitive to the total electron content between Earth and the pulsars at each observation. All lines of sight cross through the solar wind which produces correlated DM fluctuations in all pulsars. We develop and apply techniques for extracting the imprint of the solar wind from the full collection of DM measurements in the recently released NANOGrav 11-yr data set. We filter out long time scale DM fluctuations attributable to structure in the interstellar medium and carry out a simultaneous analysis of all pulsars in our sample that can differentiate the correlated signature of the wind from signals unique to individual lines of sight. When treating the solar wind as spherically symmetric and constant in time, we find the electron number density at 1 A.U. to be $7.9\pm0.2$ cm$^{-3}$. Our data shows little evidence of long-term variation in the density of the wind. We argue that our techniques paired with a high cadence, low radio frequency observing campaign of near-ecliptic pulsars would be capable of mapping out large-scale latitudinal structure in the wind., 15 pages, submitted to ApJ

Published
2018

48. On the Amplitude and Stokes Parameters of a Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

Author

Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Ciarán Conneely, and Andrew H. Jaffe

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), POLARIZATION, astro-ph.GA, Cosmic background radiation, FOS: Physical sciences, cosmic background radiation, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Signal, Spectral line, Gravitational wave background, LIMITS, symbols.namesake, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, MATPLOTLIB, 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences, 0103 physical sciences, Stokes parameters, Anisotropy, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, white dwarfs, Physics, Science & Technology, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, quasars: supermassive black holes, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Computational physics, Amplitude, gravitational waves, RESOLUTION, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Physical Sciences, astro-ph.CO, symbols, RADIATION, ARRAY, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

The direct detection of gravitational waves has provided new opportunities for studying the universe, but also new challenges, such as the detection and characterization of stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds at different gravitational-wave frequencies. In this paper we examine two different methods for their description, one based on the amplitude of a gravitational-wave signal and one on its Stokes parameters. We find that the Stokes parameters are able to describe anisotropic and correlated backgrounds, whereas the usual power spectra of the amplitudes cannot -- i.e. the Stokes spectra are sensitive to properties such as the spatial distribution of the gravitational-wave sources in a realistic backgrounds., 18 pages, 10 figures

Published
2018

49. The NANOGrav 11 Year Data Set:Pulsar-timing Constraints on the Stochastic Gravitational-wave Background

Author

Megan E. DeCesar, Renée Spiewak, Timothy Dolch, Timothy T. Pennucci, Emmanuel Fonseca, Alexander Rasskazov, D. R. Madison, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Jing Luo, Justin A. Ellis, David L. Kaplan, William M. Folkner, V. M. Kaspi, B. Christy, Maura McLaughlin, T. J. W. Lazio, Neil J. Cornish, Weiwei Zhu, Ryan S. Park, P. T. Baker, Sean T. McWilliams, Joseph Simon, Glenn Jones, Stephen Taylor, Ryan S. Lynch, David J. Nice, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Kathryn Crowter, Michael T. Lam, Paul S. Ray, E. A. Huerta, Peter A. Gentile, K. Islo, Daniel R. Stinebring, Nihan Pol, M. L. Jones, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Andrea N. Lommen, Roland Haas, Sarah J. Vigeland, Lina Levin, Robert D. Ferdman, S. J. Chamberlin, Fronefield Crawford, Joseph K. Swiggum, Shami Chatterjee, Kevin Stovall, Ingrid H. Stairs, H. Thankful Cromartie, Michele Vallisneri, James M. Cordes, Scott M. Ransom, R. van Haasteren, Adam Brazier, Cherry Ng, Xavier Siemens, Paul Demorest, Zaven Arzoumanian, N. Garver-Daniels, and Duncan R. Lorimer

Subjects
Stellar mass, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Population, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, general [pulsars], General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Gravitational wave background, Pulsar timing array, Pulsar, 0103 physical sciences, data analysis [methods], ephemeredes, inflation, education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), education.field_of_study, Supermassive black hole, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, supermassive black holes [quasars], Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, 16. Peace & justice, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, gravitational waves, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract

We search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) in the newly released $11$-year dataset from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). While we find no significant evidence for a GWB, we place constraints on a GWB from a population of supermassive black-hole binaries, cosmic strings, and a primordial GWB. For the first time, we find that the GWB upper limits and detection statistics are sensitive to the Solar System ephemeris (SSE) model used, and that SSE errors can mimic a GWB signal. We developed an approach that bridges systematic SSE differences, producing the first PTA constraints that are robust against SSE uncertainties. We thus place a $95\%$ upper limit on the GW strain amplitude of $A_\mathrm{GWB}, 21 pages, 12 figures, 9 tables. Published in The Astrophysical Journal. Please send any comments/questions to S. R. Taylor (srtaylor@caltech.edu)

Published
2018
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50. The NANOGrav 11-Year Data Set: Limits on Gravitational Waves from Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Author

David L. Kaplan, Adam Brazier, Sarah Burke-Spolaor, Megan E. DeCesar, Emmanuel Fonseca, R. van Haasteren, Joseph Simon, Joey Shapiro Key, Robert D. Ferdman, Cherry Ng, Zaven Arzoumanian, Lina Levin, Peter A. Gentile, N. Garver-Daniels, Neil J. Cornish, Ryan S. Lynch, Chiara M. F. Mingarelli, A. M. Holgado, Xavier Siemens, Kathryn Crowter, Justin A. Ellis, Stephen Taylor, J. E. Turner, Weiwei Zhu, Caitlin A. Witt, Ingrid H. Stairs, Paul Demorest, T. J. W. Lazio, Paul S. Ray, Michele Vallisneri, Ross J. Jennings, K. Islo, E. A. Huerta, J. Luo, Luke Zoltan Kelley, Sean T. McWilliams, David J. Nice, Maura McLaughlin, D. R. Madison, Daniel R. Stinebring, James M. Cordes, Renée Spiewak, P. T. Baker, M. R. Brinson, Kshitij Aggarwal, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, Nihan Pol, M. L. Jones, Glenn Jones, Paul R. Brook, Timothy Dolch, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Scott M. Ransom, Michael T. Lam, Joseph K. Swiggum, H. T. Cromartie, Fronefield Crawford, Duncan R. Lorimer, Shami Chatterjee, Kevin Stovall, Andrew R. Kaiser, Timothy T. Pennucci, and Sarah J. Vigeland

Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), 01 natural sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Pulsar, Observatory, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, Supermassive black hole, Solar mass, Gravitational wave, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Virgo Cluster, Galaxy, Black hole, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Abstract

Observations indicate that nearly all galaxies contain supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers. When galaxies merge, their component black holes form SMBH binaries (SMBHBs), which emit low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs) that can be detected by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). We have searched the recently-released North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) 11-year data set for GWs from individual SMBHBs in circular orbits. As we did not find strong evidence for GWs in our data, we placed 95\% upper limits on the strength of GWs from such sources as a function of GW frequency and sky location. We placed a sky-averaged upper limit on the GW strain of $h_0 < 7.3(3) \times 10^{-15}$ at $f_\mathrm{gw}= 8$ nHz. We also developed a technique to determine the significance of a particular signal in each pulsar using ``dropout' parameters as a way of identifying spurious signals in measurements from individual pulsars. We used our upper limits on the GW strain to place lower limits on the distances to individual SMBHBs. At the most-sensitive sky location, we ruled out SMBHBs emitting GWs with $f_\mathrm{gw}= 8$ nHz within 120 Mpc for $\mathcal{M} = 10^9 \, M_\odot$, and within 5.5 Gpc for $\mathcal{M} = 10^{10} \, M_\odot$. We also determined that there are no SMBHBs with $\mathcal{M} > 1.6 \times 10^9 \, M_\odot$ emitting GWs in the Virgo Cluster. Finally, we estimated the number of potentially detectable sources given our current strain upper limits based on galaxies in Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and merger rates from the Illustris cosmological simulation project. Only 34 out of 75,000 realizations of the local Universe contained a detectable source, from which we concluded it was unsurprising that we did not detect any individual sources given our current sensitivity to GWs., 10 pages, 11 figures. Accepted by Astrophysical Journal. Please send any comments/questions to S. J. Vigeland (vigeland@uwm.edu)

Published
2018
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