| Title | The International Pulsar Timing Array: First data release |
| Authors | Verbiest, J. P. W. Lentati, L. Hobbs, G. van Haasteren, R. Demorest, P. B. Janssen, G. H. Wang, J.B. Desvignes, G. Caballero, R. N. Keith, M. J. Champion, D. J. Arzoumanian, Z. Babak, S. Bassa, C. G. Bhat, N. D. R. Brazier, A. Brem, P. Burgay, M. Burke-Spolaor, S. Chamberlin, S. J. Chatterjee, S. Christy, B. Cognard, I. Cordes, J. M. Dai, S. Dolch, T. Ellis, J. A. Ferdman, R. D. Fonseca, E. Gair, J. R. Garver-Daniels, N. E. Gentile, P. Gonzalez, M. E. Graikou, E. Guillemot, L. Hessels, J. W. T. Jones, G. Ka |
| Affiliation | Univ Bielefeld, Fak Phys, Postfach 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany. Max Planck Inst Radioastron, Hugel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany. Univ Cambridge, Cavendish Lab, Astrophys Grp, JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0HE, England. Australia Telescope Natl Facil, CSIRO Astron & Space Sci, POB 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia. CALTECH, Jet Prop Lab, 4800 Oak Grove Dr,M-S 67-201, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA. Natl Radio Astron Observ, POB O, Socorro, NM 87801 USA. Netherlands Inst Radio Astron, ASTRON, Postbus 2, NL-7990 AA Dwingeloo, Netherlands. Chinese Acad Sci, Xinjiang Astron Observ, 150 Sci 1-St, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, Peoples R China. Univ Manchester, Sch Phys & Astron, Jodrell Bank Ctr Astrophys, Manchester M13 9PL, Lancs, England. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, USRA, Ctr Res & Explorat Space Sci & Technol, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Xray Astrophys Lab, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA. MPI Gravitat Phys Albert Einstein Inst, D-14476 Golm, Germany. Curtin Univ, Int Ctr Radio Astron Res, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia. Cornell Univ, Cornell Ctr Adv Comp, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA. Cornell Univ, Cornell Ctr Astrophys & Planetary Sci, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA. INAF Osservatorio Astron Cagliari, Via Sci 5, I-09047 Selargius, CA, Italy. Penn State Univ, Dept Phys, 104 Davey Lab, University Pk, PA 16802 USA. Cornell Univ, Dept Astron, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA. Notre Dame Maryland Univ, 4701 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21210 USA. Univ Orleans, CNRS, Lab Phys & Chim Environm & Espace LPC2E, F-45071 Orleans, France. CNRS INSU, Observ Paris, Stn Radioastron Nancy, F-18330 Nancy, France. Peking Univ, Sch Phys, Dept Astron, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China. Hillsdale Coll, Dept Phys, 33 E Coll St, Hillsdale, MI 49242 USA. McGill Univ, Dept Phys, Rutherford Phys Bldg,3600 Univ St, Montreal, PQ H3A 2T8, Canada. Univ British Columbia, Dept Phys & Astron, 6224 Agr Rd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada. Univ Edinburgh, Sch Math, Kings Bldg, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Midlothian, Scotland. W Virginia Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Morgantown, WV 26506 USA. Vancouver Coastal Hlth, Dept Nucl Med, 899 W 12th Ae, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada. Univ Amsterdam, Anton Pannekoek Inst Astron, Sci Pk 904, NL-1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands. Columbia Univ, Dept Phys, 538 W 120th St, New York, NY 10027 USA. Monash Univ, Sch Phys & Astron, Monash Ctr Astrophys MoCA, Clayton, Vic 3800, Australia. Peking Univ, Kavli Inst Astron & Astrophys, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China. Natl Radio Astron Observ, POB 2, Green Bank, WV 24944 USA. Natl Radio Astron Observ, 520 Edgemont Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA. CALTECH, TAPIR, MC 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA. Lafayette Coll, Dept Phys, Easton, PA 18042 USA. Texas Tech Univ, Dept Phys, Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA. Univ Virginia, Dept Astron, POB 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904 USA. Univ Paris Diderot Paris7, APC, UFR Phys, Batiment Condorcet, Paris 13, France. Swinburne Univ Technol, Ctr Astrophys & Supercomp, POB 218, Hawthorn, Vic 3122, Australia. Univ Birmingham, Sch Phys & Astron, Birmingham B15 2TT, W Midlands, England. Univ Wisconsin, Dept Phys, Ctr Gravitat Cosmol & Astrophys, POB 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 USA. Oberlin Coll, Phys & Astron Dept, Oberlin, OH 44074 USA. Univ New Mexico, Dept Phys & Astron, Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA. Univ Paris Diderot, CNRS INSU, Observ Paris, Lab Univ & Theories LUTh, 5 Pl Jules Janssen, F-92190 Meudon, France. Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Phys, Wuhan 430074, Hunan, Peoples R China. Univ Western Australia, Sch Phys, 35 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia. Southwest Univ, Sch Phys Sci & Technol, Chongqing 400715, Peoples R China. Univ Bielefeld, Fak Phys, Postfach 100131, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany. Verbiest, JPW (reprint author), Max Planck Inst Radioastron, Hugel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany. |
| Keywords | methods: data analysis pulsars: general |
| Issue Date | 2016 |
| Publisher | MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY |
| Citation | MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.2016,458,(2),1267-1288. |
| Abstract | 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 IPTA's potential of improving upon gravitational-wave limits placed by individual PTAs by a factor of similar to 2 and provides a 2 sigma limit on the dimensionless amplitude of a stochastic gravitational-wave background of 1.7 x 10(-15) at a frequency of 1 yr(-1). This is 1.7 times less constraining than the limit placed by Shannon et al., due mostly to the more recent, high-quality data they used. |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/438181 |
| ISSN | 0035-8711 |
| DOI | 10.1093/mnras/stw347 |
| Indexed | SCI(E) |
| Appears in Collections: | 物理学院 科维理天文与天体物理研究所 |
