Pulsar timing arrays and the detection of low-frequency gravitational waves

Prof. Bruce Allen (MPI für Gravitationsphysik, Hannover)

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) detect gravitational waves (GWs) via the correlations they create in the arrival times of pulses from different pulsars. The mean correlation, a function of the angle between the directions to pulsars, is called the Hellings and Downs (HD) curve. Observation of this pattern is key evidence that the timing residuals arise from GWs, so PTAs "reconstruct the HD curve" by estimating the inter-pulsar correlation using pulsar pairs separated by similar angles.

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