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Register a new userThe NANOGrav Nine-year Data Set: Observations, Arrival Time Measurements, and Analysis of 37 Millisecond Pulsars
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We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars monitored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of arrival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. In conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evidence for excess low-frequency, or red, timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.
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We analyze 24 binary radio pulsars in the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) nine-year data set. We make fourteen significant measurements of Shapiro delay, including new detections in four pulsar-binary systems (PSRs J0613$-$0200, J2017+0603, J2302+4442, and J2317+1439), and derive estimates of the binary-component masses and orbital inclination for these MSP-binary systems. We find a wide range of binary pulsar masses, with values as low as $m_{rm p} = 1.18^{+0.10}_{-0.09}text{M}_{odot}$ for PSR J1918$-$0642 and as high as $m_{rm p} = 1.928^{+0.017}_{-0.017}text{M}_{odot}$ for PSR J1614$-$2230 (both 68.3% credibility). We make an improved measurement of the Shapiro timing delay in the PSR J1918$-$0642 and J2043+1711 systems, measuring the pulsar mass in the latter system to be $m_{rm p} = 1.41^{+0.21}_{-0.18}text{M}_{odot}$ (68.3% credibility) for the first time. We measure secular variations of one or more orbital elements in many systems, and use these measurements to further constrain our estimates of the pulsar and companion masses whenever possible. In particular, we used the observed Shapiro delay and periastron advance due to relativistic gravity in the PSR J1903+0327 system to derive a pulsar mass of $m_{rm p} = 1.65^{+0.02}_{-0.02}text{M}_{odot}$ (68.3% credibility). We discuss the implications that our mass measurements have on the overall neutron-star mass distribution, and on the mass/orbital-period correlation due to extended mass transfer.
The use of pulsars as astrophysical clocks for gravitational wave experiments demands the highest possible timing precision. Pulse times of arrival (TOAs) are limited by stochastic processes that occur in the pulsar itself, along the line of sight through the interstellar medium, and in the measurement process. On timescales of seconds to hours, the TOA variance exceeds that from template-fitting errors due to additive noise. We assess contributions to the total variance from two additional effects: amplitude and phase jitter intrinsic to single pulses and changes in the interstellar impulse response from scattering. The three effects have different dependencies on time, frequency, and pulse signal-to-noise ratio. We use data on 37 pulsars from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves to assess the individual contributions to the overall intraday noise budget for each pulsar. We detect jitter in 22 pulsars and estimate the average value of RMS jitter in our pulsars to be $sim 1%$ of pulse phase. We examine how jitter evolves as a function of frequency and find evidence for evolution. Finally, we compare our measurements with previous noise parameter estimates and discuss methods to improve gravitational wave detection pipelines.
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.
We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves. The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz. Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, with six high--timing-precision pulsars observed weekly, and all were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays. We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs. We fit a timing model for each pulsar that includes spin, astrometric, and, if necessary, binary parameters, in addition to time-variable dispersion delays and parameters that quantify pulse-profile evolution with frequency. The new timing solutions provide three new parallax measurements, two new Shapiro delay measurements, and two new measurements of large orbital-period variations. We fit models that characterize sources of noise for each pulsar. We find that 11 pulsars show significant red noise, with generally smaller spectral indices than typically measured for non-recycled pulsars, possibly suggesting a different origin. Future papers will use these data to constrain or detect the signatures of gravitational-wave signals.
We search for extrasolar planets around millisecond pulsars using pulsar timing data and seek to determine the minimum detectable planetary masses as a function of orbital period. Using the 11-year data set from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), we look for variations from our models of pulse arrival times due to the presence of exoplanets. No planets are detected around the millisecond pulsars in the NANOGrav 11-year data set, but taking into consideration the noise levels of each pulsar and the sampling rate of our observations, we develop limits that show we are sensitive to planetary masses as low as that of the moon. We analyzed potential planet periods, P, in the range 7 days < P < 2000 days, with somewhat smaller ranges for some binary pulsars. The planetary mass limit for our median-sensitivity pulsar within this period range is 1 M_moon (P / 100 days)^(-2/3).
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