A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background

Ajello M, Atwood WB, Baldini L, Ballet J, Barbiellini G, Bastieri D, Bellazzini R, Berretta A, Bhattacharyya B, Bissaldi E, Blandford RD, Bloom E, Bonino R, Bruel P, Buehler R, Burns E, Buson S, Cameron RA, Caraveo PA, Cavazzuti E, Cibrario N, Ciprini S, Clark CJ, Cognard , Coronado-Blazquez J, Crnogorcevic M, Cromartie H, Crowter K, Cutini S, D'Ammando F, De Gaetano S, De Palma F, Digel SW, Di Lalla N, Dirirsa FF, Di Venere L, Dominguez A, Ferrara EC, Fiori A, Franckowiak A, Fukazawa Y, Funk S, Fusco P, Gammaldi , Gargano F, Gasparrini D, Giglietto N, Giordano F, Giroletti M, Green D, Grenier IA, Guillemot L, Guiriec S, Gustafsson M, Harding AK, Hays E, Hewitt JW, Horan D, Hou X, Johannesson G, Keith MJ, Kerr M, Kramer M, Marti-Devesa G, Kuss M, Larsson S, Latronico L, Li J, Longo F, Loparco F, Lovellette MN, Lubrano P, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Mazziotta MN, Mereu , Michelson PF, Mirabal N, Mitthumsiri W, Mizuno T, Monzani ME, Morselli A, Negro M, Nieder L, Ojha R, Omodei N, Orienti M, Orlando E, Ormes JF, Paneque D, Parthasarathy A, Pei Z, Persic M, Pesce-Rollins M, Pillera R, Poon H, Porter TA, Principe G, Racusin JL, Raino S, Rando R, Rani B, Ransom SM, Ray PS, Razzano M, Razzaque S, Reimer A, Reimer O, Roy J, Sanchez-Conde M, Parkinson PMS, Scargle J, Scotton L, Serini D, Sgro C, Siskind EJ, Smith DA, Spandre G, Spiewak R, Spinelli P, Stairs , Suson DJ, Swihart SJ, Tabassum S, Thayer JB, Theureau G, Torres DF, Troja E, Valverde J, Wadiasingh Z, Wood K, Zaharijas G (2022)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Book Volume: 376

Pages Range: 521-+

Journal Issue: 6592

DOI: 10.1126/science.abm3231

Abstract

After large galaxies merge, their central supermassive black holes are expected to form binary systems. Their orbital motion should generate a gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies. Searches for this background use pulsar timing arrays, which perform long-term monitoring of millisecond pulsars at radio wavelengths. We used 12.5 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data to form a gamma-ray pulsar timing array. Results from 35 bright gamma-ray pulsars place a 95% credible limit on the GWB characteristic strain of 1.0 x 10(-14) at a frequency of 1 year(-1). The sensitivity is expected to scale with t(obs), the observing time span, as t(obs)(-13/6). This direct measurement provides an independent probe of the GWB while offering a check on radio noise models.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Clemson University US United States (USA) (US) University of California Santa Cruz US United States (USA) (US) University of Pisa / Università di Pisa (UniPi) IT Italy (IT) University of Paris 4 - Paris-Sorbonne / Université paris IV Paris-Sorbonne FR France (FR) National Institute for Nuclear Physics / Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) IT Italy (IT) Università degli Studi di Perugia IT Italy (IT) University of Bari Aldo Moro / Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro IT Italy (IT) Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY DE Germany (DE) Stanford University US United States (USA) (US) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) IN India (IN) École Polytechnique - Université Paris-Saclay FR France (FR) Louisiana State University US United States (USA) (US) Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg DE Germany (DE) National Institute for Astrophysics / Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) IT Italy (IT) Italian Space Agency / Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) IT Italy (IT) University of Manchester GB United Kingdom (GB) University of Orléans / Université d'Orléans FR France (FR) Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) ES Spain (ES) University of Maryland US United States (USA) (US) Cornell University US United States (USA) (US) University of British Columbia CA Canada (CA) Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut, MPP) / Max Planck Institute for Physics DE Germany (DE) Università del Salento IT Italy (IT) University of Savoy Mont Blanc / Université Savoie Mont Blanc FR France (FR) Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) ES Spain (ES) Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) DE Germany (DE) Hiroshima University JP Japan (JP) Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck / University of Innsbruck AT Austria (AT) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) US United States (USA) (US) U.S. Naval Research Laboratory US United States (USA) (US) University of Nova Gorica / Univerza v Novi Gorici SI Slovenia (SI) Georg-August-Universität Göttingen DE Germany (DE) Los Alamos National Laboratory US United States (USA) (US) University of North Florida (UNF) US United States (USA) (US) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN) University of Iceland (UI) / Háskóli Íslands IS Iceland (IS) Royal Institute of Technology / Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) SE Sweden (SE) University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) CN China (CN) Mahidol University / มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล TH Thailand (TH) Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology (CRESST) US United States (USA) (US) Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics / Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut) DE Germany (DE) University of Denver US United States (USA) (US) Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie / Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy DE Germany (DE) University of Padua / Universita degli Studi di Padova IT Italy (IT) National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) US United States (USA) (US) University of Johannesburg ZA South Africa (ZA) Ames Research Center US United States (USA) (US) University of Montpellier / Université Montpellier FR France (FR) NYCB Real-Time Computing, Inc. US United States (USA) (US) Université Bordeaux 1, Sciences et Technologies FR France (FR) Purdue University Northwest / Purdue University Calumet US United States (USA) (US) New York University Abu Dhabi (NYU Abu Dhabi) AE United Arab Emirates (AE) Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) / Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies ES Spain (ES)

How to cite

APA:

Ajello, M., Atwood, W.B., Baldini, L., Ballet, J., Barbiellini, G., Bastieri, D.,... Zaharijas, G. (2022). A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background. Science, 376(6592), 521-+. https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abm3231

MLA:

Ajello, M., et al. "A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background." Science 376.6592 (2022): 521-+.

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