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Register a new userLimits on anisotropy in the nanohertz stochastic gravitational-wave background
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The paucity of observed supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) may imply that the gravitational wave background (GWB) from this population is anisotropic, rendering existing analyses sub-optimal. We present the first constraints on the angular distribution of a nanohertz stochastic GWB from circular, inspiral-driven SMBHBs using the $2015$ European Pulsar Timing Array data [Desvignes et al. (in prep.)]. Our analysis of the GWB in the $sim 2 - 90$ nHz band shows consistency with isotropy, with the strain amplitude in $l>0$ spherical harmonic multipoles $lesssim 40%$ of the monopole value. We expect that these more general techniques will become standard tools to probe the angular distribution of source populations.
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We present an analysis of high-precision pulsar timing data taken as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational waves (NANOGrav) project. We have observed 17 pulsars for a span of roughly five years using the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes. We analyze these data using standard pulsar timing models, with the addition of time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-variable pulse shape terms. Sub-microsecond timing residuals are obtained in nearly all cases, and the best root-mean-square timing residuals in this set are ~30-50 ns. We present methods for analyzing post-fit timing residuals for the presence of a gravitational wave signal with a specified spectral shape. These optimally take into account the timing fluctuation power removed by the model fit, and can be applied to either data from a single pulsar, or to a set of pulsars to detect a correlated signal. We apply these methods to our dataset to set an upper limit on the strength of the nHz-frequency stochastic supermassive black hole gravitational wave background of h_c (1 yr^-1) < 7x10^-15 (95%). This result is dominated by the timing of the two best pulsars in the set, PSRs J1713+0747 and J1909-3744.
A nanohertz-frequency stochastic gravitational-wave background can potentially be detected through the precise timing of an array of millisecond pulsars. This background produces low-frequency noise in the pulse arrival times that would have a characteristic spectrum common to all pulsars and a well-defined spatial correlation. Recently the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves collaboration (NANOGrav) found evidence for the common-spectrum component in their 12.5-year data set. Here we report on a search for the background using the second data release of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. If we are forced to choose between the two NANOGrav models $unicode{x2014}$ one with a common-spectrum process and one without $unicode{x2014}$ we find strong support for the common-spectrum process. However, in this paper, we consider the possibility that the analysis suffers from model misspecification. In particular, we present simulated data sets that contain noise with distinctive spectra but show strong evidence for a common-spectrum process under the standard assumptions. The Parkes data show no significant evidence for, or against, the spatially correlated Hellings-Downs signature of the gravitational-wave background. Assuming we did observe the process underlying the spatially uncorrelated component of the background, we infer its amplitude to be $A = 2.2^{+0.4}_{-0.3} times 10^{-15}$ in units of gravitational-wave strain at a frequency of $1, text{yr}^{-1}$. Extensions and combinations of existing and new data sets will improve the prospects of identifying spatial correlations that are necessary to claim a detection of the gravitational-wave background.
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 $A_mathrm{GWB}<1.45times 10^{-15}$ at a frequency of $f=1$ yr$^{-1}$ for a fiducial $f^{-2/3}$ power-law spectrum, and with inter-pulsar correlations modeled. This is a factor of $sim 2$ improvement over the NANOGrav $9$-year limit, calculated using the same procedure. Previous PTA upper limits on the GWB will need revision in light of SSE systematic uncertainties. We use our constraints to characterize the combined influence on the GWB of the stellar mass-density in galactic cores, the eccentricity of SMBH binaries, and SMBH--galactic-bulge scaling relationships. We constrain cosmic-string tension using recent simulations, yielding an SSE-marginalized $95%$ upper limit on the cosmic string tension of $Gmu < 5.3times 10^{-11}$---a factor of $sim 2$ better than the published NANOGrav $9$-year constraints. Our SSE-marginalized $95%$ upper limit on the energy density of a primordial GWB (for a radiation-dominated post-inflation Universe) is $Omega_mathrm{GWB}(f)h^2<3.4times10^{-10}$.
Global cosmic strings are generically predicted in particle physics beyond the Standard Model, e.g., a post-inflationary global $U(1)$ symmetry breaking which may associate with axion-like dark matter. We demonstrate that although subdominant to Goldstone emission, gravitational waves (GWs) radiated from global strings can be observable with current or future GW detectors. The frequency spectrum of such GWs is also shown to be a powerful tool to probe the Hubble expansion rate of the Universe at times prior to the Big Bang nucleosynthesis where the standard cosmology has yet to be tested.
A metastable cosmic-string network is a generic consequence of many grand unified theories (GUTs) when combined with cosmic inflation. Metastable cosmic strings are not topologically stable, but decay on cosmic time scales due to pair production of GUT monopoles. This leads to a network consisting of metastable long strings on superhorizon scales as well as of string loops and segments on subhorizon scales. We compute for the first time the complete stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) arising from all these network constituents, including several technical improvements to both the derivation of the loop and segment contributions. We find that the gravitational waves emitted by string loops provide the main contribution to the gravitational-wave spectrum in the relevant parameter space. The resulting spectrum is consistent with the tentative signal observed by the NANOGrav and Parkes pulsar timing collaborations for a string tension of Gmu ~ 10^-11...-7 and has ample discovery space for ground- and space-based detectors. For GUT-scale string tensions, Gmu ~ 10^-8...-7, metastable strings predict a SGWB in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA band that could be discovered in the near future.
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