2019/10/31 by Ross J. Jennings, James M. Cordes, Shami Chatterjee · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Glitch #Gravitation #Gravitational wave #Millisecond pulsar #Neutron star #Proper motion #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Scattering #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab64df
published in The Astrophysical Journal 889(2), 145 (IOP Publishing) · 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
openalex created_date 2019/10/25 · arxiv created 2019/12/27 · openalex publication_date 2020/02/01 · arxiv updated 2020/02/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract Gravitational scattering events, in which the path of an interstellar object is deflected by a pulsar or the solar system, give rise to reflex motion that can potentially be detected using pulsar timing. We determine the form of the timing signal expected from a gravitational scattering event, which is ramp-like and resembles the signal produced by a glitch or a gravitational wave burst with memory (BWM), and investigate the prospects for detecting such a signal using a pulsar timing array. The level of timing precision currently achieved for some millisecond pulsars makes it possible to detect objects as small as 10 −10 M ☉ , less than the mass of the dwarf planet Ceres, at impact parameters as large as . The signals produced by gravitational scattering could provide independent constraints on models of dark matter involving asteroid-mass objects or subhalos, and should be considered as potential false positives in searches for BWMs.