The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-wave Background

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald · Full author list is the NANOGrav Collaboration (hundreds of authors); first listed authors shown. The given title was a paraphrase/reordering; the exact published title leads with 'The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set:'.

Published 29 June 2023 · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · Journal article

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Summary

Using 15 years of pulsar timing data from a 67-pulsar array, the NANOGrav Collaboration reported evidence for a stochastic gravitational-wave background at nanohertz frequencies. The team detected the characteristic spatial cross-correlation (Hellings-Downs) signature expected for such a background across pulsar pairs, at a significance of roughly 3 to 4 sigma. The signal is consistent with a population of inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries, though exotic cosmological sources are not excluded.

Key findings

Detection of Hellings-Downs angular correlations across the pulsar array consistent with a gravitational-wave background at 3-4 sigma significance.
Measured red-noise common process amplitude consistent with a stochastic background dominated by supermassive black hole binaries.
Published as part of the coordinated NANOGrav 15 yr data set release in ApJ Letters, volume 951, article L8.

Subjects & keywords

Physics gravitational-wave background pulsar timing array nanograv supermassive black holes nanohertz

Cite this paper

APA

Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, & Anne M. Archibald [Full author list is the NANOGrav Collaboration (hundreds of authors); first listed authors shown. The given title was a paraphrase/reordering; the exact published title leads with 'The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set:'.] (2023). The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-wave Background. The Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdac6

BibTeX

@article{agazie2023nanograv,
  author    = {Gabriella Agazie and Akash Anumarlapudi and Anne M. Archibald and {Full author list is the NANOGrav Collaboration (hundreds of authors); first listed authors shown. The given title was a paraphrase/reordering; the exact published title leads with 'The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set:'.}},
  title     = {The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-wave Background},
  journal   = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters},
  year      = {2023},
  doi       = {10.3847/2041-8213/acdac6},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdac6}
}

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