2009/02/17 by Paul B. Demorest, Demorest, P., J. Lazio +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Relativity and Gravitational Theory
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0902.2968
openalex publication_date 2009/02/17 · openalex created_date 2024/04/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Gravitational waves (GWs) are fluctuations in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. Using a collection of millisecond pulsars as high-precision clocks, the nanohertz band of this radiation is likely to be directly detected within the next decade. Nanohertz-frequency GWs are expected to be emitted by mergers of massive black hole binary systems, and potentially also by cosmic strings or superstrings formed in the early Universe. Direct detection of GWs will open a new window to the Universe, and provide astrophysical information inaccessible via electromagnetic observations. In this paper, we describe the potential sources of low-frequency GWs and the current status and key advances needed for the detection and exploitation of GWs through pulsar timing.