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Optimal strategies for gravitational wave stochastic background searches in pulsar timing data

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arxiv 0809.0701 v2 pith:CYMTVJP3 submitted 2008-09-03 gr-qc astro-ph

Melissa Anholm , Stefan Ballmer , Jolien D. E. Creighton , Larry R. Price , Xavier Siemens This is my paper
classification gr-qcastro-ph
keywords pulsartiminggravitationalbackgrounddataoptimalwavearray
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A low frequency stochastic background of gravitational waves may be detected by pulsar timing experiments in the next five to ten years. Using methods developed to analyze interferometric gravitational wave data, in this paper we lay out the optimal techniques to detect a background of gravitational waves using a pulsar timing array. We show that for pulsar distances and gravitational wave frequencies typical of pulsar timing experiments, neglecting the effect of the metric perturbation at the pulsar does not result in a significant deviation from optimality. We discuss methods for setting upper limits using the optimal statistic, show how to construct skymaps using the pulsar timing array, and consider several issues associated with realistic analysis of pulsar timing data.

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Cited by 11 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Detecting Chiral Gravitational Wave Background with a Dipole Pulsar Timing Array

    gr-qc 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    A dipole pulsar timing array detects chiral nanohertz gravitational waves and extends PTA sensitivity into the microhertz regime.

  2. Detecting Parity-Violating Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with Pulsar Polarization Arrays

    gr-qc 2025-11 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    Cross-correlating pulsar timing and polarimetry isolates the circular polarization of isotropic stochastic GW backgrounds and shares the Hellings-Downs angular pattern.

  3. Fingerprints of Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Pulsar Timing Arrays

    astro-ph.HE 2026-03 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    A single supermassive black hole binary imprints a deterministic, direction-dependent correlation fingerprint on pulsar timing arrays, enabling identification via cross-correlations.

  4. New test of modified gravity with gravitational wave experiments

    gr-qc 2025-09 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    For a stationary, isotropic gravitational wave background, three-point correlations are produced only by scalar polarizations, giving a new null test for modified gravity.

  5. Mapping the Gravitational-wave Background Across the Spectrum with a Next-Generation Anisotropic Per-frequency Optimal Statistic

    astro-ph.IM 2025-09 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    A new pulsar-timing-array pipeline maps the gravitational-wave sky per frequency, folds cosmic variance into significance estimates, and detects a simulated loud source at p=0.01 versus 0.2 broadband.

  6. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Customized Chromatic Noise Models

    astro-ph.HE 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 5.0 of 10

    Customized chromatic noise models for 67 pulsars detect non-dispersive delays in 21 cases, alter achromatic noise inferences in 19, and enable solar wind density estimates over 1.5 cycles.

  7. Expectations for the first supermassive black-hole binary resolved by PTAs I: Model efficacy

    astro-ph.IM 2025-10 unverdicted novelty 5.0 of 10

    Simulations of PTA data show that a full gravitational-wave signal template achieves the highest Bayes factors and most robust parameter estimation for individual supermassive black hole binaries compared to an Earth-...

  8. Cosmic Variance in Anisotropy Searches at Pulsar Timing Arrays

    astro-ph.CO 2025-08 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    Cosmic variance does not create false anisotropy detections in pulsar timing array searches when the correct likelihood is used, and the maximum resolvable multipole scales as the number of pulsars rather than its squ...

  9. Implications for Pulsar Timing Arrays of Sub-solar Black Hole Detections: From LVK to Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer

    astro-ph.CO 2025-08 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    A Bayesian analysis shows that a future sub-solar PBH detection would make the primordial SIGW interpretation of PTA data favored over the SMBH interpretation, but this preference is driven by the detection prior.

  10. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Impacts of Customized Chromatic Noise Models on Gravitational Wave Analyses

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0 of 10

    Customized chromatic noise models applied to NANOGrav 15 yr data raise the Bayes factor for Hellings-Downs GWB correlations by a factor of ~8, lower the amplitude to 2.1e-15, and increase the spectral index to 3.5.

  11. Synergies Between Pulsar Timing Array and Astrometry

    astro-ph.IM 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0 of 10

    Joint SKA PTA and astrometry analysis improves gravitational wave background detection sensitivity by 10-50%.

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