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17 results on '"Niţu, I. C."'

1. Comparing recent PTA results on the nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background

Author

The International Pulsar Timing Array Collaboration, Agazie, G., Antoniadis, J., Anumarlapudi, A., Archibald, A. M., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Arzoumanian, Z., Askew, J., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Bailes, M., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Baker, P. T., Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Bécsy, B., Berthereau, A., Bhat, N. D. R., Blecha, L., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brazier, A., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Burke-Spolaor, S., Burnette, R., Caballero, R. N., Cameron, A., Case, R., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Charisi, M., Chatterjee, S., Chatziioannou, K., Cheeseboro, B. D., Chen, S., Chen, Z. -C., Cognard, I., Cohen, T., Coles, W. A., Cordes, J. M., Cornish, N. J., Crawford, F., Cromartie, H. T., Crowter, K., Curyło, M., Cutler, C. J., Dai, S., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., DeCesar, M. E., DeGan, D., Demorest, P. B., Deng, H., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dey, L., Dhanda-Batra, N., Di Marco, V., Dolch, T., Drachler, B., Dwivedi, C., Ellis, J. A., Falxa, M., Feng, Y., Ferdman, R. D., Ferrara, E. C., Fiore, W., Fonseca, E., Franchini, A., Freedman, G. E., Gair, J. R., Garver-Daniels, N., Gentile, P. A., Gersbach, K. A., Glaser, J., Good, D. C., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Gültekin, K., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Grunthal, K., Hazboun, J. S., Hisano, S., Hobbs, G. B., Hourihane, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Islo, K., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jennings, R. J., Jessner, A., Johnson, A. D., Jones, M. L., Joshi, B. C., Kaiser, A. R., Kaplan, D. L., Kapur, A., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kelley, L. Z., Kerr, M., Key, J. S., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Klein, T. C., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Kulkarni, A., Laal, N., Lackeos, K., Lam, M. T., Lamb, W. G., Larsen, B. B., Lazio, T. J. W., Lee, K. J., Levin, Y., Lewandowska, N., Littenberg, T. B., Liu, K., Liu, T., Liu, Y., Lommen, A., Lorimer, D. R., Lower, M. E., Luo, J., Luo, R., Lynch, R. S., Lyne, A. G., Ma, C. -P., Maan, Y., Madison, D. R., Main, R. A., Manchester, R. N., Mandow, R., Mattson, M. A., McEwen, A., McKee, J. W., McLaughlin, M. A., McMann, N., Meyers, B. W., Meyers, P. M., Mickaliger, M. B., Miles, M., Mingarelli, C. M. F., Mitridate, A., Natarajan, P., Nathan, R. S., Ng, C., Nice, D. J., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Ocker, S. K., Olum, K. D., Osłowski, S., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Pennucci, T. T., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Petrov, P., Pol, N. S., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Radovan, H. A., Rana, P., Ransom, S. M., Ray, P. S., Reardon, D. J., Rogers, A. F., Romano, J. D., Russell, C. J., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sardesai, S. C., Schmiedekamp, A., Schmiedekamp, C., Schmitz, K., Schult, L., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Shannon, R. M., Shapiro-Albert, B. J., Siemens, X., Simon, J., Singha, J., Siwek, M. S., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stairs, I. H., Stappers, B. W., Stinebring, D. R., Stovall, K., Sun, J. P., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Swiggum, J. K., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Taylor, J., Taylor, S. R., Theureau, G., Thrane, E., Thyagarajan, N., Tiburzi, C., Toomey, L., Turner, J. E., Unal, C., Vallisneri, M., van der Wateren, E., van Haasteren, R., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Vigeland, S. J., Wahl, H. M., Wang, S., Wang, Q., Witt, C. A., Wang, J., Wang, L., Wayt, K. E., Wu, Z., Young, O., Zhang, L., Zhang, S., Zhu, X. -J., and Zic, A.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract

The Australian, Chinese, European, Indian, and North American pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations recently reported, at varying levels, evidence for the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB). Given that each PTA made different choices in modeling their data, we perform a comparison of the GWB and individual pulsar noise parameters across the results reported from the PTAs that constitute the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We show that despite making different modeling choices, there is no significant difference in the GWB parameters that are measured by the different PTAs, agreeing within $1\sigma$. The pulsar noise parameters are also consistent between different PTAs for the majority of the pulsars included in these analyses. We bridge the differences in modeling choices by adopting a standardized noise model for all pulsars and PTAs, finding that under this model there is a reduction in the tension in the pulsar noise parameters. As part of this reanalysis, we "extended" each PTA's data set by adding extra pulsars that were not timed by that PTA. Under these extensions, we find better constraints on the GWB amplitude and a higher signal-to-noise ratio for the Hellings and Downs correlations. These extensions serve as a prelude to the benefits offered by a full combination of data across all pulsars in the IPTA, i.e., the IPTA's Data Release 3, which will involve not just adding in additional pulsars, but also including data from all three PTAs where any given pulsar is timed by more than as single PTA., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, submitted to ApJ

Published
2023

2. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: VI. Challenging the ultralight dark matter paradigm

Author

Smarra, Clemente, Goncharov, Boris, Barausse, Enrico, Antoniadis, J., Babak, S., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Desvignes, G., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Graikou, E., Grie, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Stappers, B. W., Susarla, S. C., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Abstract

Pulsar Timing Array experiments probe the presence of possible scalar or pseudoscalar ultralight dark matter particles through decade-long timing of an ensemble of galactic millisecond radio pulsars. With the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array, we focus on the most robust scenario, in which dark matter interacts only gravitationally with ordinary baryonic matter. Our results show that ultralight particles with masses $10^{-24.0}~\text{eV} \lesssim m \lesssim 10^{-23.3}~\text{eV}$ cannot constitute $100\%$ of the measured local dark matter density, but can have at most local density $\rho\lesssim 0.3$ GeV/cm$^3$., Comment: 5 pages + acknowledgements + refs, 2 figures. Text and figures match the version published in PRL

Published
2023
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3. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: IV. Implications for massive black holes, dark matter and the early Universe

Author

Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Auclair, P., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Barausse, E., Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Caprini, C., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Crisostomi, M., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Fastidio, F., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Gualandris, A., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Khizriev, T., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Middleton, H., Neronov, A., Nitu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Postnov, K., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Pol, A. Roper, Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Semikoz, D., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Smarra, C., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Steer, D. A., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., Truant, R. J., van der Wateren, E., Valtolina, S., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaborations have measured a low-frequency common signal in the combination of their second and first data releases respectively, with the correlation properties of a gravitational wave background (GWB). Such signal may have its origin in a number of physical processes including a cosmic population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs); inflation, phase transitions, cosmic strings and tensor mode generation by non-linear evolution of scalar perturbations in the early Universe; oscillations of the Galactic potential in the presence of ultra-light dark matter (ULDM). At the current stage of emerging evidence, it is impossible to discriminate among the different origins. Therefore, in this paper, we consider each process separately, and investigate the implications of the signal under the hypothesis that it is generated by that specific process. We find that the signal is consistent with a cosmic population of inspiralling SMBHBs, and its relatively high amplitude can be used to place constraints on binary merger timescales and the SMBH-host galaxy scaling relations. If this origin is confirmed, this is the first direct evidence that SMBHBs merge in nature, adding an important observational piece to the puzzle of structure formation and galaxy evolution. As for early Universe processes, the measurement would place tight constraints on the cosmic string tension and on the level of turbulence developed by first-order phase transitions. Other processes would require non-standard scenarios, such as a blue-tilted inflationary spectrum or an excess in the primordial spectrum of scalar perturbations at large wavenumbers. Finally, a ULDM origin of the detected signal is disfavoured, which leads to direct constraints on the abundance of ULDM in our Galaxy., Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures, replaced to match the version published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, note the change in the numbering order in the series (now paper IV)

Published
2023

4. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array V. Search for continuous gravitational wave signals

Author

Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferranti, I., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Manzini, S., Mickaliger, M. B., Nitu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract

We present the results of a search for continuous gravitational wave signals (CGWs) in the second data release (DR2) of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) collaboration. The most significant candidate event from this search has a gravitational wave frequency of 4-5 nHz. Such a signal could be generated by a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in the local Universe. We present the results of a follow-up analysis of this candidate using both Bayesian and frequentist methods. The Bayesian analysis gives a Bayes factor of 4 in favor of the presence of the CGW over a common uncorrelated noise process, while the frequentist analysis estimates the p-value of the candidate to be 1%, also assuming the presence of common uncorrelated red noise. However, comparing a model that includes both a CGW and a gravitational wave background (GWB) to a GWB only, the Bayes factor in favour of the CGW model is only 0.7. Therefore, we cannot conclusively determine the origin of the observed feature, but we cannot rule it out as a CGW source. We present results of simulations that demonstrate that data containing a weak gravitational wave background can be misinterpreted as data including a CGW and vice versa, providing two plausible explanations of the EPTA DR2 data. Further investigations combining data from all PTA collaborations will be needed to reveal the true origin of this feature., Comment: 13 figures, 15 pages, accepted

Published
2023
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5. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array II. Customised pulsar noise models for spatially correlated gravitational waves

Author

Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Abstract

The nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB) is expected to be an aggregate signal of an ensemble of gravitational waves emitted predominantly by a large population of coalescing supermassive black hole binaries in the centres of merging galaxies. Pulsar timing arrays, ensembles of extremely stable pulsars, are the most precise experiments capable of detecting this background. However, the subtle imprints that the GWB induces on pulsar timing data are obscured by many sources of noise. These must be carefully characterized to increase the sensitivity to the GWB. In this paper, we present a novel technique to estimate the optimal number of frequency coefficients for modelling achromatic and chromatic noise and perform model selection. We also incorporate a new model to fit for scattering variations in the pulsar timing package temponest and created realistic simulations of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) datasets that allowed us to test the efficacy of our noise modelling algorithms. We present an in-depth analysis of the noise properties of 25 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that form the second data release (DR2) of the EPTA and investigate the effect of incorporating low-frequency data from the Indian PTA collaboration. We use enterprise and temponest packages to compare noise models with those reported with the EPTA DR1. We find that, while in some pulsars we can successfully disentangle chromatic from achromatic noise owing to the wider frequency coverage in DR2, in others the noise models evolve in a more complicated way. We also find evidence of long-term scattering variations in PSR J1600$-$3053. Through our simulations, we identify intrinsic biases in our current noise analysis techniques and discuss their effect on GWB searches. The results presented here directly help improve sensitivity to the GWB and are already being used as part of global PTA efforts., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 9 tables

Published
2023
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6. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array I. The dataset and timing analysis

Author

Antoniadis, J., Babak, S., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Desvignes, G., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Nitu, I. C., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Samajdar, H. Quelquejay Leclere A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Stappers, B. W., Susarla, S. C., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract

Pulsar timing arrays offer a probe of the low-frequency gravitational wave spectrum (1 - 100 nanohertz), which is intimately connected to a number of markers that can uniquely trace the formation and evolution of the Universe. We present the dataset and the results of the timing analysis from the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). The dataset contains high-precision pulsar timing data from 25 millisecond pulsars collected with the five largest radio telescopes in Europe, as well as the Large European Array for Pulsars. The dataset forms the foundation for the search for gravitational waves by the EPTA, presented in associated papers. We describe the dataset and present the results of the frequentist and Bayesian pulsar timing analysis for individual millisecond pulsars that have been observed over the last ~25 years. We discuss the improvements to the individual pulsar parameter estimates, as well as new measurements of the physical properties of these pulsars and their companions. This data release extends the dataset from EPTA Data Release 1 up to the beginning of 2021, with individual pulsar datasets with timespans ranging from 14 to 25 years. These lead to improved constraints on annual parallaxes, secular variation of the orbital period, and Shapiro delay for a number of sources. Based on these results, we derived astrophysical parameters that include distances, transverse velocities, binary pulsar masses, and annual orbital parallaxes., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, 13 tables, Astronomy & Astrophysics in press

Published
2023
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7. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array III. Search for gravitational wave signals

Author

Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Nitu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Abstract

We present the results of the search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies using the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) for 25 millisecond pulsars and a combination with the first data release of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA). We analysed (i) the full 24.7-year EPTA data set, (ii) its 10.3-year subset based on modern observing systems, (iii) the combination of the full data set with the first data release of the InPTA for ten commonly timed millisecond pulsars, and (iv) the combination of the 10.3-year subset with the InPTA data. These combinations allowed us to probe the contributions of instrumental noise and interstellar propagation effects. With the full data set, we find marginal evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of four and a false alarm probability of $4\%$. With the 10.3-year subset, we report evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of $60$ and a false alarm probability of about $0.1\%$ ($\gtrsim 3\sigma$ significance). The addition of the InPTA data yields results that are broadly consistent with the EPTA-only data sets, with the benefit of better noise modelling. Analyses were performed with different data processing pipelines to test the consistency of the results from independent software packages. The inferred spectrum from the latest EPTA data from new generation observing systems is rather uncertain and in mild tension with the common signal measured in the full data set. However, if the spectral index is fixed at 13/3, the two data sets give a similar amplitude of ($2.5\pm0.7)\times10^{-15}$ at a reference frequency of $1\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$. By continuing our detection efforts as part of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), we expect to be able to improve the measurement of spatial correlations and better characterise this signal in the coming years., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, 4 appendix figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Published
2023
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8. Practical approaches to analyzing PTA data: Cosmic strings with six pulsars

Author

Leclere, Hippolyte Quelquejay, Auclair, Pierre, Babak, Stanislav, Chalumeau, Aurélien, Steer, Danièle A., Antoniadis, J., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Desvignes, G., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Stappers, B. W., Susarla, S. C., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Subjects
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, High Energy Physics - Theory
Abstract

We search for a stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) generated by a network of cosmic strings using six millisecond pulsars from Data Release 2 (DR2) of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). We perform a Bayesian analysis considering two models for the network of cosmic string loops, and compare it to a simple power-law model which is expected from the population of supermassive black hole binaries. Our main strong assumption is that the previously reported common red noise process is a SGWB. We find that the one-parameter cosmic string model is slightly favored over a power-law model thanks to its simplicity. If we assume a two-component stochastic signal in the data (supermassive black hole binary population and the signal from cosmic strings), we get a $95\%$ upper limit on the string tension of $\log_{10}(G\mu) < -9.9$ ($-10.5$) for the two cosmic string models we consider. In extended two-parameter string models, we were unable to constrain the number of kinks. We test two approximate and fast Bayesian data analysis methods against the most rigorous analysis and find consistent results. These two fast and efficient methods are applicable to all SGWBs, independent of their source, and will be crucial for analysis of extended data sets., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; typo corrected in (5)

Published
2023
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9. Discoveries and Timing of Pulsars in NGC 6440

Author

Vleeschower, L., Stappers, B. W., Bailes, M., Barr, E. D., Kramer, M., Ransom, S., Ridolfi, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Possenti, A., Keith, M. J., Burgay, M., Freire, P. C. C., Spiewak, R., Champion, D. J., Bezuidenhout, M. C., Niţu, I. C., Chen, W., Parthasarathy, A., DeCesar, M. E., Buchner, S., Stairs, I. H., and Hessels, J. W. T.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Abstract

Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, a series of observations have been conducted to time the known pulsars and search for new pulsars in the globular cluster NGC 6440. As a result, two pulsars have been discovered, NGC 6440G and NGC 6440H, one of which is isolated and the other a non-eclipsing (at frequencies above 962 MHz) "Black Widow", with a very low mass companion (M$_{\rm c}$ > 0.006 M$_{\odot}$). It joins the other binary pulsars discovered so far in this cluster which all have low companion masses (M$_{\rm c}$ < 0.30 M$_{\odot}$). We present the results of long-term timing solutions obtained using data from both Green Bank and MeerKAT telescopes for these two new pulsars and an analysis of the pulsars NGC 6440C and NGC 6440D. For the isolated pulsar NGC 6440C, we searched for planets using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique. We find evidence for significant unmodelled variations but they cannot be well modelled as planets nor as part of a power-law red-noise process. Studies of the eclipses of the "Redback" pulsar NGC 6440D at two different frequency bands reveal a frequency dependence with longer and asymmetric eclipses at lower frequencies (962-1283 MHz)., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Published
2022
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10. The SKA Particle Array Prototype: The First Particle Detector at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory

Author

Bray, J. D., Williamson, A., Schelfhout, J., James, C. W., Spencer, R. E., Chen, H., Cropper, B. D., Emrich, D., Gould, K. M. L., Haungs, A., Hodder, W., Howland, T., Huege, T., Kenney, D., McPhail, A., Mitchell, S., Niţu, I. C., Roberts, P., Tawn, R., Tickner, J., and Tingay, S. J.

Subjects
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract

We report on the design, deployment, and first results from a scintillation detector deployed at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). The detector is a prototype for a larger array -- the Square Kilometre Array Particle Array (SKAPA) -- planned to allow the radio-detection of cosmic rays with the Murchison Widefield Array and the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array. The prototype design has been driven by stringent limits on radio emissions at the MRO, and to ensure survivability in a desert environment. Using data taken from Nov.\ 2018 to Feb.\ 2019, we characterize the detector response while accounting for the effects of temperature fluctuations, and calibrate the sensitivity of the prototype detector to through-going muons. This verifies the feasibility of cosmic ray detection at the MRO. We then estimate the required parameters of a planned array of eight such detectors to be used to trigger radio observations by the Murchison Widefield Array., Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables

Published
2020
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11. An updated estimate of the cosmic radio background and implications for ultra-high-energy photon propagation

Author

Niţu, I. C., Bevins, H. T. J., Bray, J. D., and Scaife, A. M. M.

Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract

We present an updated estimate of the cosmic radio background (CRB) and the corresponding attenuation lengths for ultra-high energy photons. This new estimate provides associated uncertainties as a function of frequency derived from observational constraints on key physical parameters. We also present the expected variation in the spectrum of the CRB as a function of these parameters, as well as accounting for the expected variation in spectral index among the population of radio galaxies. The new estimate presented in this work shows better agreement with observational constraints from radio source-count measurements than previous calculations. In the energy regime where we expect cosmogenic photons dominantly attenuated by the CRB, our calculation of the attenuation length differs from previous estimates by a factor of up to 3, depending on energy and the specific model for comparison. These results imply a decrease in the expected number of cosmogenic photons with energies $\sim 10^{19}-10^{20}$ eV.

Published
2020
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12. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: IV. Implications for massive black holes, dark matter, and the early Universe

Author

Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Gualandris, A, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Van Der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Auclair, P, Antoniadis J., Arumugam P., Arumugam S., Babak S., Bagchi M., Bak Nielsen A. S., Bassa C. G., Bathula A., Berthereau A., Bonetti M., Bortolas E., Brook P. R., Burgay M., Caballero R. N., Chalumeau A., Champion D. J., Chanlaridis S., Chen S., Cognard I., Dandapat S., Deb D., Desai S., Desvignes G., Dhanda-Batra N., Dwivedi C., Falxa M., Ferdman R. D., Franchini A., Gair J. R., Goncharov B., Gopakumar A., Graikou E., Grießmeier J. M., Gualandris A., Guillemot L., Guo Y. J., Gupta Y., Hisano S., Hu H., Iraci F., Izquierdo Villalba D., Jang J., Jawor J., Janssen G. H., Jessner A., Joshi B. C., Kareem F., Karuppusamy R., Keane E. F., Keith M. J., Kharbanda D., Kikunaga T., Kolhe N., Kramer M., Krishnakumar M. A., Lackeos K., Lee K. J., Liu K., Liu Y., Lyne A. G., McKee J. W., Maan Y., Main R. A., Mickaliger M. B., Niţu I. C., Nobleson K., Paladi A. K., Parthasarathy A., Perera B. B. P., Perrodin D., Petiteau A., Porayko N. K., Possenti A., Prabu T., Quelquejay Leclere H., Rana P., Samajdar A., Sanidas S. A., Sesana A., Shaifullah G., Singha J., Speri L., Spiewak R., Srivastava A., Stappers B. W., Surnis M., Susarla S. C., Susobhanan A., Takahashi K., Tarafdar P., Theureau G., Tiburzi C., Van Der Wateren E., Vecchio A., Venkatraman Krishnan V., Verbiest J. P. W., Wang J., Wang L., Wu Z., Auclair P., Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Gualandris, A, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Van Der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Auclair, P, Antoniadis J., Arumugam P., Arumugam S., Babak S., Bagchi M., Bak Nielsen A. S., Bassa C. G., Bathula A., Berthereau A., Bonetti M., Bortolas E., Brook P. R., Burgay M., Caballero R. N., Chalumeau A., Champion D. J., Chanlaridis S., Chen S., Cognard I., Dandapat S., Deb D., Desai S., Desvignes G., Dhanda-Batra N., Dwivedi C., Falxa M., Ferdman R. D., Franchini A., Gair J. R., Goncharov B., Gopakumar A., Graikou E., Grießmeier J. M., Gualandris A., Guillemot L., Guo Y. J., Gupta Y., Hisano S., Hu H., Iraci F., Izquierdo Villalba D., Jang J., Jawor J., Janssen G. H., Jessner A., Joshi B. C., Kareem F., Karuppusamy R., Keane E. F., Keith M. J., Kharbanda D., Kikunaga T., Kolhe N., Kramer M., Krishnakumar M. A., Lackeos K., Lee K. J., Liu K., Liu Y., Lyne A. G., McKee J. W., Maan Y., Main R. A., Mickaliger M. B., Niţu I. C., Nobleson K., Paladi A. K., Parthasarathy A., Perera B. B. P., Perrodin D., Petiteau A., Porayko N. K., Possenti A., Prabu T., Quelquejay Leclere H., Rana P., Samajdar A., Sanidas S. A., Sesana A., Shaifullah G., Singha J., Speri L., Spiewak R., Srivastava A., Stappers B. W., Surnis M., Susarla S. C., Susobhanan A., Takahashi K., Tarafdar P., Theureau G., Tiburzi C., Van Der Wateren E., Vecchio A., Venkatraman Krishnan V., Verbiest J. P. W., Wang J., Wang L., Wu Z., and Auclair P.

Abstract

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaborations have measured a low-frequency common signal in the combination of their second and first data releases, respectively, with the correlation properties of a gravitational wave background (GWB). Such a signal may have its origin in a number of physical processes including a cosmic population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs); inflation, phase transitions, cosmic strings, and tensor mode generation by the non-linear evolution of scalar perturbations in the early Universe; and oscillations of the Galactic potential in the presence of ultra-light dark matter (ULDM). At the current stage of emerging evidence, it is impossible to discriminate among the different origins. Therefore, for this paper, we consider each process separately, and investigated the implications of the signal under the hypothesis that it is generated by that specific process. We find that the signal is consistent with a cosmic population of inspiralling SMBHBs, and its relatively high amplitude can be used to place constraints on binary merger timescales and the SMBH-host galaxy scaling relations. If this origin is confirmed, this would be the first direct evidence that SMBHBs merge in nature, adding an important observational piece to the puzzle of structure formation and galaxy evolution. As for early Universe processes, the measurement would place tight constraints on the cosmic string tension and on the level of turbulence developed by first-order phase transitions. Other processes would require non-standard scenarios, such as a blue-tilted inflationary spectrum or an excess in the primordial spectrum of scalar perturbations at large wavenumbers. Finally, a ULDM origin of the detected signal is disfavoured, which leads to direct constraints on the abundance of ULDM in our Galaxy.

Published
2024

13. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array. III. Search for gravitational wave signals

Author

Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, van der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Bak Nielsen, A. -S., Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Quelquejay Leclere, H., Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Venkatraman Krishnan, V., Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., Wu, Z., Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, van der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Bak Nielsen, A. -S., Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Quelquejay Leclere, H., Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Venkatraman Krishnan, V., Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Abstract

We present the results of the search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies using the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) for 25 millisecond pulsars and a combination with the first data release of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA). A robust GWB detection is conditioned upon resolving the Hellings-Downs angular pattern in the pairwise cross-correlation of the pulsar timing residuals. Additionally, the GWB is expected to yield the same (common) spectrum of temporal correlations across pulsars, which is used as a null hypothesis in the GWB search. Such a common-spectrum process has already been observed in pulsar timing data. We analysed (i) the full 24.7-year EPTA data set, (ii) its 10.3-year subset based on modern observing systems, (iii) the combination of the full data set with the first data release of the InPTA for ten commonly timed millisecond pulsars, and (iv) the combination of the 10.3-year subset with the InPTA data. These combinations allowed us to probe the contributions of instrumental noise and interstellar propagation effects. With the full data set, we find marginal evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of four and a false alarm probability of 4%. With the 10.3-year subset, we report evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of 60 and a false alarm probability of about 0.1% (3significance). The addition of the InPTA data yields results that are broadly consistent with the EPTA-only data sets, with the benefit of better noise modelling. Analyses were performed with different data processing pipelines to test the consistency of the results from independent software packages. The latest EPTA data from new generation observing systems show non-negligible evidence for the GWB. At the same time, the inferred spectrum is rather uncertain and in mild tension with the common signal measured in the full data set. However, if the spectral index is fixed at 13/3, the two data sets

Published
2023

14. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: I. The dataset and timing analysis

Author

Antoniadis, J, Babak, S, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Desvignes, G, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Graikou, E, Grieaßmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Stappers, B, Susarla, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Van Der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis J., Babak S., Bak Nielsen A. S., Bassa C. G., Berthereau A., Bonetti M., Bortolas E., Brook P. R., Burgay M., Caballero R. N., Chalumeau A., Champion D. J., Chanlaridis S., Chen S., Cognard I., Desvignes G., Falxa M., Ferdman R. D., Franchini A., Gair J. R., Goncharov B., Graikou E., Grieaßmeier J. M., Guillemot L., Guo Y. J., Hu H., Iraci F., Izquierdo-Villalba D., Jang J., Jawor J., Janssen G. H., Jessner A., Karuppusamy R., Keane E. F., Keith M. J., Kramer M., Krishnakumar M. A., Lackeos K., Lee K. J., Liu K., Liu Y., Lyne A. G., McKee J. W., Main R. A., Mickaliger M. B., Niţu I. C., Parthasarathy A., Perera B. B. P., Perrodin D., Petiteau A., Porayko N. K., Possenti A., Quelquejay Leclere H., Samajdar A., Sanidas S. A., Sesana A., Shaifullah G., Speri L., Spiewak R., Stappers B. W., Susarla S. C., Theureau G., Tiburzi C., Van Der Wateren E., Vecchio A., Venkatraman Krishnan V., Verbiest J. P. W., Wang J., Wang L., Wu Z., Antoniadis, J, Babak, S, Bak Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Desvignes, G, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Graikou, E, Grieaßmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Quelquejay Leclere, H, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Stappers, B, Susarla, S, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, Van Der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Venkatraman Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis J., Babak S., Bak Nielsen A. S., Bassa C. G., Berthereau A., Bonetti M., Bortolas E., Brook P. R., Burgay M., Caballero R. N., Chalumeau A., Champion D. J., Chanlaridis S., Chen S., Cognard I., Desvignes G., Falxa M., Ferdman R. D., Franchini A., Gair J. R., Goncharov B., Graikou E., Grieaßmeier J. M., Guillemot L., Guo Y. J., Hu H., Iraci F., Izquierdo-Villalba D., Jang J., Jawor J., Janssen G. H., Jessner A., Karuppusamy R., Keane E. F., Keith M. J., Kramer M., Krishnakumar M. A., Lackeos K., Lee K. J., Liu K., Liu Y., Lyne A. G., McKee J. W., Main R. A., Mickaliger M. B., Niţu I. C., Parthasarathy A., Perera B. B. P., Perrodin D., Petiteau A., Porayko N. K., Possenti A., Quelquejay Leclere H., Samajdar A., Sanidas S. A., Sesana A., Shaifullah G., Speri L., Spiewak R., Stappers B. W., Susarla S. C., Theureau G., Tiburzi C., Van Der Wateren E., Vecchio A., Venkatraman Krishnan V., Verbiest J. P. W., Wang J., Wang L., and Wu Z.

Abstract

Pulsar timing arrays offer a probe of the low-frequency gravitational wave spectrum (1"100 nHz), which is intimately connected to a number of markers that can uniquely trace the formation and evolution of the Universe. We present the dataset and the results of the timing analysis from the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). The dataset contains high-precision pulsar timing data from 25 millisecond pulsars collected with the five largest radio telescopes in Europe, as well as the Large European Array for Pulsars. The dataset forms the foundation for the search for gravitational waves by the EPTA, presented in associated papers. We describe the dataset and present the results of the frequentist and Bayesian pulsar timing analysis for individual millisecond pulsars that have been observed over the last ~25 yr. We discuss the improvements to the individual pulsar parameter estimates, as well as new measurements of the physical properties of these pulsars and their companions. This data release extends the dataset from EPTA Data Release 1 up to the beginning of 2021, with individual pulsar datasets with timespans ranging from 14 to 25 yr. These lead to improved constraints on annual parallaxes, secular variation of the orbital period, and Shapiro delay for a number of sources. Based on these results, we derived astrophysical parameters that include distances, transverse velocities, binary pulsar masses, and annual orbital parallaxes.

Published
2023

15. The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array. II. Customised pulsar noise models for spatially correlated gravitational waves

Author

Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, van der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., Wu, Z., Antoniadis, J, Arumugam, P, Arumugam, S, Babak, S, Bagchi, M, Nielsen, A, Bassa, C, Bathula, A, Berthereau, A, Bonetti, M, Bortolas, E, Brook, P, Burgay, M, Caballero, R, Chalumeau, A, Champion, D, Chanlaridis, S, Chen, S, Cognard, I, Dandapat, S, Deb, D, Desai, S, Desvignes, G, Dhanda-Batra, N, Dwivedi, C, Falxa, M, Ferdman, R, Franchini, A, Gair, J, Goncharov, B, Gopakumar, A, Graikou, E, Grießmeier, J, Guillemot, L, Guo, Y, Gupta, Y, Hisano, S, Hu, H, Iraci, F, Izquierdo-Villalba, D, Jang, J, Jawor, J, Janssen, G, Jessner, A, Joshi, B, Kareem, F, Karuppusamy, R, Keane, E, Keith, M, Kharbanda, D, Kikunaga, T, Kolhe, N, Kramer, M, Krishnakumar, M, Lackeos, K, Lee, K, Liu, K, Liu, Y, Lyne, A, Mckee, J, Maan, Y, Main, R, Mickaliger, M, Niţu, I, Nobleson, K, Paladi, A, Parthasarathy, A, Perera, B, Perrodin, D, Petiteau, A, Porayko, N, Possenti, A, Prabu, T, Leclere, H, Rana, P, Samajdar, A, Sanidas, S, Sesana, A, Shaifullah, G, Singha, J, Speri, L, Spiewak, R, Srivastava, A, Stappers, B, Surnis, M, Susarla, S, Susobhanan, A, Takahashi, K, Tarafdar, P, Theureau, G, Tiburzi, C, van der Wateren, E, Vecchio, A, Krishnan, V, Verbiest, J, Wang, J, Wang, L, Wu, Z, Antoniadis, J., Arumugam, P., Arumugam, S., Babak, S., Bagchi, M., Nielsen, A. -S. Bak, Bassa, C. G., Bathula, A., Berthereau, A., Bonetti, M., Bortolas, E., Brook, P. R., Burgay, M., Caballero, R. N., Chalumeau, A., Champion, D. J., Chanlaridis, S., Chen, S., Cognard, I., Dandapat, S., Deb, D., Desai, S., Desvignes, G., Dhanda-Batra, N., Dwivedi, C., Falxa, M., Ferdman, R. D., Franchini, A., Gair, J. R., Goncharov, B., Gopakumar, A., Graikou, E., Grießmeier, J. -M., Guillemot, L., Guo, Y. J., Gupta, Y., Hisano, S., Hu, H., Iraci, F., Izquierdo-Villalba, D., Jang, J., Jawor, J., Janssen, G. H., Jessner, A., Joshi, B. C., Kareem, F., Karuppusamy, R., Keane, E. F., Keith, M. J., Kharbanda, D., Kikunaga, T., Kolhe, N., Kramer, M., Krishnakumar, M. A., Lackeos, K., Lee, K. J., Liu, K., Liu, Y., Lyne, A. G., McKee, J. W., Maan, Y., Main, R. A., Mickaliger, M. B., Niţu, I. C., Nobleson, K., Paladi, A. K., Parthasarathy, A., Perera, B. B. P., Perrodin, D., Petiteau, A., Porayko, N. K., Possenti, A., Prabu, T., Leclere, H. Quelquejay, Rana, P., Samajdar, A., Sanidas, S. A., Sesana, A., Shaifullah, G., Singha, J., Speri, L., Spiewak, R., Srivastava, A., Stappers, B. W., Surnis, M., Susarla, S. C., Susobhanan, A., Takahashi, K., Tarafdar, P., Theureau, G., Tiburzi, C., van der Wateren, E., Vecchio, A., Krishnan, V. Venkatraman, Verbiest, J. P. W., Wang, J., Wang, L., and Wu, Z.

Abstract

Aims. The nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB) is expected to be an aggregate signal of an ensemble of gravitational waves emitted predominantly by a large population of coalescing supermassive black hole binaries in the centres of merging galaxies. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), which are ensembles of extremely stable pulsars at approximately kiloparsec distances precisely monitored for decades, are the most precise experiments capable of detecting this background. However, the subtle imprints that the GWB induces on pulsar timing data are obscured by many sources of noise that occur on various timescales. These must be carefully modelled and mitigated to increase the sensitivity to the background signal. Methods. In this paper, we present a novel technique to estimate the optimal number of frequency coefficients for modelling achromatic and chromatic noise, while selecting the preferred set of noise models to use for each pulsar. We also incorporated a new model to fit for scattering variations in the Bayesian pulsar timing package temponest. These customised noise models enable a more robust characterisation of single-pulsar noise. We developed a software package based on tempo2 to create realistic simulations of European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) datasets that allowed us to test the efficacy of our noise modelling algorithms. Results. Using these techniques, we present an in-depth analysis of the noise properties of 25 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that form the second data release (DR2) of the EPTA and investigate the effect of incorporating low-frequency data from the Indian Pulsar Timing Array collaboration for a common sample of ten MSPs. We used two packages, enterprise and temponest, to estimate our noise models and compare them with those reported using EPTA DR1. We find that, while in some pulsars we can successfully disentangle chromatic from achromatic noise owing to the wider frequency coverage in DR2, in others the noise models evolve in a much

Published
2023

16. Discoveries and Timing of Pulsars in NGC 6440

Author

Vleeschower, L, primary, Stappers, B W, additional, Bailes, M, additional, Barr, E D, additional, Kramer, M, additional, Ransom, S, additional, Ridolfi, A, additional, Krishnan, V Venkatraman, additional, Possenti, A, additional, Keith, M J, additional, Burgay, M, additional, Freire, P C C, additional, Spiewak, R, additional, Champion, D J, additional, Bezuidenhout, M C, additional, Niţu, I C, additional, Chen, W, additional, Parthasarathy, A, additional, DeCesar, M E, additional, Buchner, S, additional, Stairs, I H, additional, and Hessels, J W T, additional

Published
2022
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17. Second Data Release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: Challenging the Ultralight Dark Matter Paradigm.

Author

Smarra C, Goncharov B, Barausse E, Antoniadis J, Babak S, Nielsen AB, Bassa CG, Berthereau A, Bonetti M, Bortolas E, Brook PR, Burgay M, Caballero RN, Chalumeau A, Champion DJ, Chanlaridis S, Chen S, Cognard I, Desvignes G, Falxa M, Ferdman RD, Franchini A, Gair JR, Graikou E, Grießmeier JM, Guillemot L, Guo YJ, Hu H, Iraci F, Izquierdo-Villalba D, Jang J, Jawor J, Janssen GH, Jessner A, Karuppusamy R, Keane EF, Keith MJ, Kramer M, Krishnakumar MA, Lackeos K, Lee KJ, Liu K, Liu Y, Lyne AG, McKee JW, Main RA, Mickaliger MB, Niţu IC, Parthasarathy A, Perera BBP, Perrodin D, Petiteau A, Porayko NK, Possenti A, Leclere HQ, Samajdar A, Sanidas SA, Sesana A, Shaifullah G, Speri L, Spiewak R, Stappers BW, Susarla SC, Theureau G, Tiburzi C, van der Wateren E, Vecchio A, Krishnan VV, Wang J, Wang L, and Wu Z

Abstract

Pulsar Timing Array experiments probe the presence of possible scalar or pseudoscalar ultralight dark matter particles through decade-long timing of an ensemble of galactic millisecond radio pulsars. With the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array, we focus on the most robust scenario, in which dark matter interacts only gravitationally with ordinary baryonic matter. Our results show that ultralight particles with masses 10^{-24.0}  eV≲m≲10^{-23.3}  eV cannot constitute 100% of the measured local dark matter density, but can have at most local density ρ≲0.3  GeV/cm^{3}.

Published
2023
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