Probing the Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Background

探测纳赫兹引力波背景

• 批准号: 0206044
• 负责人: Donald Backer
• 金额: $ 22.52万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0206044&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Probing; Nanohertz; Gravitational; Wave; Background

AST 0206044PI BackerElectromagnetic pulses from a distant clock traversing a gravitational wave experience a variable delay depending on the gravitational wave phase at the emitter and at the receiver. This effect allows the use of a spatial array of the most precise pulsars, which are precision celestial clocks, as a sensitive gravity-wave detector at very low, nHz, frequencies using a measurement interval extending over several years. It is expected there should be a low frequency random background of gravitational radiation as a relic from an early epoch of the formation of the Universe, but that an astrophysically significant 'foreground' of gravity waves from the coalescence of massive black hole binaries in the nuclei of galaxies will be the dominant source at nHz frequencies. The global Pulsar Timing Array of selected pulsars is essential for positive detection of gravitational radiation and involves a continuation and improvement of the Arecibo experiments, the new Green Bank Telescope, and a collaboration with pulsar groups in Amsterdam, France, and Australia to assemble the "best" combined data sets for the multi-pulsar/multi-frequency/multi-telescope analysis. The project will also learn about the intrinsic properties of pulsars and the turbulence structure of the plasma in the line of sight to the pulsar.***

AST 0206044PI Backer 来自遥远时钟的电磁脉冲穿过引力波，会经历可变的延迟，具体取决于发射器和接收器处的引力波相位。这种效应允许使用最精确的脉冲星空间阵列（即精密天体时钟）作为非常低（nHz）频率的灵敏重力波探测器，使用的测量间隔可延长数年。 预计应该存在一个引力辐射的低频随机背景，作为宇宙形成早期时代的遗迹，但来自星系核中大质量黑洞双星合并的引力波的天体物理学意义重大的“前景”将是 nHz 频率的主要来源。 由所选脉冲星组成的全球脉冲星定时阵列对于主动探测引力辐射至关重要，涉及阿雷西博实验的延续和改进、新的绿岸望远镜，以及与阿姆斯特丹、法国和澳大利亚的脉冲星小组的合作，为多脉冲星/多频率/多望远镜分析收集“最佳”组合数据集。 该项目还将了解脉冲星的固有特性以及脉冲星视线中等离子体的湍流结构。***