Search for an Isotropic Gravitational-wave Background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array

被引:614
作者
Reardon, Daniel J. [1 ,2 ]
Zic, Andrew [3 ,4 ,5 ]
Shannon, Ryan M. [1 ,2 ]
Hobbs, George B. [3 ]
Bailes, Matthew [1 ,2 ]
Di Marco, Valentina [6 ,7 ]
Kapur, Agastya [3 ,4 ,5 ]
Rogers, Axl F. [8 ]
Thrane, Eric [6 ,7 ]
Askew, Jacob [1 ,2 ]
Bhat, N. D. Ramesh [9 ]
Cameron, Andrew [1 ,2 ]
Curylo, Malgorzata [10 ]
Coles, William A. [11 ]
Dai, Shi [12 ]
Goncharov, Boris [13 ,14 ]
Kerr, Matthew [15 ]
Kulkarni, Atharva [1 ,2 ]
Levin, Yuri [6 ,16 ,17 ,18 ]
Lower, Marcus E. [3 ]
Manchester, Richard N. [3 ]
Mandow, Rami [3 ,4 ,5 ]
Miles, Matthew T. [1 ,2 ]
Nathan, Rowina S. [6 ,7 ]
Oslowski, Stefan [19 ]
Russell, Christopher J. [20 ]
Spiewak, Renee [21 ]
Zhang, Songbo [3 ,22 ]
Zhu, Xing-Jiang [23 ]
机构
[1] Swinburne Univ Technol, Ctr Astrophys & Supercomp, POB 218, Hawthorn, Vic 3122, Australia
[2] OzGrav Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Grav, Hawthorn, Vic 3122, Australia
[3] CSIRO, Australia Telescope Natl Facil, Space & Astron, POB 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
[4] Macquarie Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
[5] Macquarie Univ, MQ Res Ctr Astron Astrophys & Astrophoton, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
[6] Monash Univ, Sch Phys & Astron, Melbourne, Vic 3800, Australia
[7] OzGrav Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Grav, Clayton, Vic 3800, Australia
[8] Auckland Univ Technol, Inst Radio Astron & Space Res, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
[9] Curtin Univ, Int Ctr Radio Astron Res, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
[10] Univ Warsaw, Astron Observ, Aleje Ujazdowskie 4, PL-00478 Warsaw, Poland
[11] Univ Calif San Diego, Elect & Comp Engn, La Jolla, CA USA
[12] Western Sydney Univ, Sch Sci, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
[13] Gran Sasso Sci Inst GSSI, I-67100 Laquila, Italy
[14] INFN, Lab Nazl Gran Sasso, I-67100 Assergi, Italy
[15] US Naval Res Lab, Space Sci Div, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20375 USA
[16] Columbia Univ, Phys Dept, 538 West 120th St, New York, NY 10027 USA
[17] Columbia Univ, Columbia Astrophys Lab, 538 West 120th St, New York, NY 10027 USA
[18] Flatiron Inst, Ctr Computat Astrophys, 162 5th Ave, New York, NY 10011 USA
[19] Manly Astrophys, 15-41-42 East Esplanade, Manly, NSW 2095, Australia
[20] CSIRO Sci Comp, Australian Technol Pk,Locked Bag 9013, Alexandria, NSW 1435, Australia
[21] Univ Manchester, Jodrell Bank Ctr Astrophys, Dept Phys & Astron, Manchester M13 9PL, England
[22] Chinese Acad Sci, Purple Mt Observ, Nanjing 210008, Peoples R China
[23] Beijing Normal Univ, Adv Inst Nat Sci, Zhuhai 519087, Peoples R China
基金
澳大利亚研究理事会;
关键词
COMMON-SPECTRUM PROCESS; ASTROPHYSICS; SIGNAL; NOISE; TIME; EPHEMERIDES; CONSTRAINTS; STATISTICS; DISPERSION; RADIATION;
D O I
10.3847/2041-8213/acdd02
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
Pulsar timing arrays aim to detect nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). A background of GWs modulates pulsar arrival times and manifests as a stochastic process, common to all pulsars, with a signature spatial correlation. Here we describe a search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) using observations of 30 millisecond pulsars from the third data release of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), which spans 18 yr. Using current Bayesian inference techniques we recover and characterize a common-spectrum noise process. Represented as a strain spectrum h(c) = A(f/1yr(-1))(alpha), we measure A = 3.1(0.9)(+1.3) x 10(-15) and alpha = -0.45 +/- 0.20, respectively (median and 68% credible interval). For a spectral index of alpha = -2/3, corresponding to an isotropic background of GWs radiated by inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries, we recover an amplitude of A = 2.04(-0.22)(+0.25) x 10(-15). However, we demonstrate that the apparent signal strength is time-dependent, as the first half of our data set can be used to place an upper limit on A that is in tension with the inferred common-spectrum amplitude using the complete data set. We search for spatial correlations in the observations by hierarchically analyzing individual pulsar pairs, which also allows for significance validation through randomizing pulsar positions on the sky. For a process with alpha = -2/3, we measure spatial correlations consistent with a GWB, with an estimated false-alarm probability of p less than or similar to 0.02 (approx. 2 sigma). The long timing baselines of the PPTA and the access to southern pulsars will continue to play an important role in the International Pulsar Timing Array.
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页数:15
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