New results from the Pulsar Timing Array hunt for nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves

Prof. Stephen Taylor (Vanderbilt University)

Supermassive black holes lurk at the heart of massive galaxies. These titans form binaries over cosmic time as a byproduct of galaxy growth, emanating gravitational waves in the nanohertz-frequency sensitivity band of networks of precisely timed pulsars. Pulsar-timing arrays (PTAs) like the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational waves (NANOGrav) and the International Pulsar Timing Array are poised to chart this new frontier of gravitational wave discovery within the next several years. I will present new results from NANOGrav’s most recent search, and highlight cutting-edge techniques to facilitate future multi-messenger detection and characterization of supermassive black-hole binary systems.