No Arabic abstract
We search for isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) in the International Pulsar Timing Array second data release. By modeling the SGWB as a power-law, we find very strong Bayesian evidence for a common-spectrum process, and further this process has scalar transverse (ST) correlations allowed in general metric theory of gravity as the Bayes factor in favor of the ST-correlated process versus the spatially uncorrelated common-spectrum process is $30pm 2$. The median and the $90%$ equal-tail amplitudes of ST mode are $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{ST}}= 1.29^{+0.51}_{-0.44} times 10^{-15}$, or equivalently the energy density parameter per logarithm frequency is $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{ST}} = 2.31^{+2.19}_{-1.30} times 10^{-9}$, at frequency of 1/year. However, we do not find any statistically significant evidence for the tensor transverse (TT) mode and then place the $95%$ upper limits as $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{TT}}< 3.95 times 10^{-15}$, or equivalently $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{TT}}< 2.16 times 10^{-9}$, at frequency of 1/year.
We search for isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background including non-tensorial polarizations allowed in general metric theories of gravity in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) second data release (DR2). We find no statistically significant evidence that the common process reported by the PPTA collaboration has the tensor transverse (TT), scalar transverse (ST), vector longitudinal (VL), or scalar longitudinal (SL) correlations in PPTA DR2. Therefore, we place $95%$ upper limit on the amplitude of each polarization mode as $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{TT}} lesssim 3.2times 10^{-15}$, $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{ST}} lesssim 1.8times 10^{-15}$, $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{VL}}lesssim 3.5times 10^{-16}$ and $mathcal{A}_{mathrm{SL}}lesssim 4.2times 10^{-17}$; or equivalently, the $95%$ upper limit on the energy density parameter per logarithm frequency as $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{TT}} lesssim 1.4times 10^{-8}$, $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{ST}} lesssim 4.5times 10^{-9}$, $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{VL}} lesssim 1.7times 10^{-10}$ and $Omega_{mathrm{GW}}^{mathrm{SL}} lesssim 2.4times 10^{-12}$ at frequency of 1/year.
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.
We present new limits on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) using a six pulsar dataset spanning 18 yr of observations from the 2015 European Pulsar Timing Array data release. Performing a Bayesian analysis, we fit simultaneously for the intrinsic noise parameters for each pulsar, along with common correlated signals including clock, and Solar System ephemeris errors, obtaining a robust 95$%$ upper limit on the dimensionless strain amplitude $A$ of the background of $A<3.0times 10^{-15}$ at a reference frequency of $1mathrm{yr^{-1}}$ and a spectral index of $13/3$, corresponding to a background from inspiralling super-massive black hole binaries, constraining the GW energy density to $Omega_mathrm{gw}(f)h^2 < 1.1times10^{-9}$ at 2.8 nHz. We also present limits on the correlated power spectrum at a series of discrete frequencies, and show that our sensitivity to a fiducial isotropic GWB is highest at a frequency of $sim 5times10^{-9}$~Hz. Finally we discuss the implications of our analysis for the astrophysics of supermassive black hole binaries, and present 95$%$ upper limits on the string tension, $Gmu/c^2$, characterising a background produced by a cosmic string network for a set of possible scenarios, and for a stochastic relic GWB. For a Nambu-Goto field theory cosmic string network, we set a limit $Gmu/c^2<1.3times10^{-7}$, identical to that set by the {it Planck} Collaboration, when combining {it Planck} and high-$ell$ Cosmic Microwave Background data from other experiments. For a stochastic relic background we set a limit of $Omega^mathrm{relic}_mathrm{gw}(f)h^2<1.2 times10^{-9}$, a factor of 9 improvement over the most stringent limits previously set by a pulsar timing array.
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 IPTAs 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.
We explore the potential of Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) such as NANOGrav, EPTA, and PPTA to detect the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background (SGWB) in theories of massive gravity. In General Relativity, the function describing the dependence of the correlation between the arrival times of signals from two pulsars on the angle between them is known as the Hellings-Downs curve. We compute the analogous overlap reduction function for massive gravity, including the additional polarization states and the correction due to the mass of the graviton, and compare the result with the Hellings-Downs curve. The primary result is a complete analytical form for the analog Hellings-Downs curve, providing a starting point for future numerical studies aimed at a detailed comparison between PTA data and the predictions of massive gravity. We study both the massless limit and the stationary limit as checks on our calculation, and discuss how our formalism also allows us to study the impact of massive spin-2 dark matter candidates on data from PTAs.