MG12 - Talk detail |
|
Participant |
Manchester, Richard | |
|
Institution |
CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility - PO Box 76 - Epping - NSW - Australia | |
|
Session |
Talk |
Abstract |
|
PS |
Detection of Gravitational Waves with Pulsar Timing |
One of the major goals of current astrophysics is the detection and study of gravitational waves (GW). Observations of just a few pulsars can only ever put a limit on the strength of GW in the Galaxy, but a positive detection can be made with observations of many pulsars spread across the celestial sphere, a so-called “Pulsar Timing Array” (PTA). PTAs are sensitive to GW with frequencies in the nHz range and hence are complementary to ground- and space-based laser-interferometer systems. With current technology, PTAs have the potential to detect predicted levels of the stochastic GW background in the Galaxy in 5 – 10 years. Failure to detect this GW background will have a significant impact on merger models for the growth of galaxies and their central black holes and on models for cosmic-string formation in the early Universe. Current PTA projects and future prospects, especially in the SKA era, are discussed. |