arXiv subjects

Bradley W. Meyers

Publications and source records attributed to Bradley W. Meyers.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The NANOGrav 15 yr Dataset: Modified Functional Forms for Profile-Evolution Time Delays in Pulsar Timing Models

Radio pulsars exhibit frequency-dependent variations in the shape of their pulse profiles that introduce systematic delays in the observed pulse times of arrival (TOA) across an observing band. The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) models these delays using a frequency-dependent (FD) log-polynomial function whose coefficients are fit to TOA measurements at different radio frequencies. However, FD parameters are prone to absorbing power from other chromatic effects, such as interstellar dispersion, leading to fitted FD values that overestimate profile evolution and vary significantly across datasets. To separate these effects, we introduce two new mathematical formulations of profile evolution: a monomial expansion (IFD) and a Legendre polynomial expansion (LIFD). We test these models on observations of 11 pulsars in the NANOGrav 15-year dataset and on simulated data, and also compare their performance to that of frequency-resolved pulse templates. We find that Legendre-based models generally predict timing delays that more closely replicate the true profile evolution, reducing the residual offset relative to FD by as much as 85% for the simulated data. Additionally, we find that the choice of profile evolution model can bias the fitted dispersion model, with FD-based models overestimating the injected DM by 0.013 pc cm^-3 compared to 0.0002 pc cm^-3 for LIFD. These results support the use of Legendre bases to mitigate covariances between chromatic effects, directly benefiting targeted timing studies of these effects and the development of advanced noise-modeling techniques for nanohertz gravitational-wave detection.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Optimal Pulsar Timing Array Strategies with the Deep Synoptic Array

Pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments have seen evidence for a nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave background (GWB) through coordinated radio timing observations of millisecond pulsars. The significance of this evidence is expected to grow and the GWB's progenitor(s) uncovered with continued observations, especially as the next generation of radio telescopes comes online. We present a framework for simulating timing observations of a set of pulsars with a set of telescopes to predict the per-pulsar optimal instrument, observing frequency, and integration time. We apply this methodology to the NANOGrav source list of 85 pulsars observed with the Green Bank Telescope, Very Large Array, Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), and the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA), a radio dish array under construction in Nevada. We discuss the dominant noise contributions to the timing precision of these pulsars and show that most are not dominated by intrinsic pulse phase jitter noise. We also determine which pulsars should be timed with DSA and CHIME or only DSA and show that an ab initio DSA PTA is more sensitive than one which uses current instruments. Finally, we solve for the optimal integration time per pulsar, subject to a fixed time budget, that maximizes the GWB signal-to-noise. We show that there is little benefit to optimizing over integration time for these pulsars observed with DSA. Through Monte Carlo realizations of the PTA, we show that the GWB sensitivity improves by $\sim 5\%$ for time-optimized observations compared to the equal-time-per-source scenario with an early-science, fixed source list.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the Lack of Resolvable Sources in the NANOGrav 15-yr Dataset

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) have found evidence of a gravitational wave background (GWB) consistent with a population of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), but have not yet resolved a continuous wave (CW) from an individual binary. We present the first SMBHB population constraints incorporating PTA upper limits on CWs, based on the NANOGrav 15-year (NG15) data. Using semi-analytic models to generate simulated populations, we calculate each sample's GWB likelihood by free spectral comparison and CW nondetection (nCW) likelihoods by (1) mapping each realization's highest CW signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) to a detection probability and (2) counting the fraction of realizations without a binary close enough that NG15 would have detected it. CW nondetection favors populations in which many lower-mass sources, rather than a few ultramassive ones, dominate the GWB. This information is complementary to that provided by the GWB amplitude, breaking the degeneracy between the masses and number of binaries required to reproduce the observed spectrum. Relative to GWB-only constraints, the joint posteriors favor higher galaxy merger rates, lower $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ scatter, shorter binary lifetimes, and steeper small-separation hardening. The most detectable sources in the S/N-weighted joint posterior have chirp masses $\sim 10^{9.6} M_\odot$, luminosity distances $\sim$1300 Mpc, and frequencies $\sim$6 nHz, while the nCW-only constraints favor lower frequencies, coinciding with the NG15 4 nHz candidate. These constraints will tighten if CW nondetection continues.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

A fast radio burst from a non-targeted low-frequency survey

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright, millisecond-duration transient radio signals of extragalactic origin with unknown source and emission mechanisms. While several thousand FRBs have been discovered at frequencies above 400 MHz, detections at lower frequencies have been exceptionally rare. Contributing to their rarity are the magnified dispersive delay, in the tens of seconds, and signal scattering that make low-frequency searches with established techniques computationally prohibitive. In particular, the only confirmed detection below 300 MHz came from a Low-Frequency Array observing campaign targeted at FRB 20180916B, a source already known to emit at higher frequencies. Here we present the first non-targeted detection of an FRB below 300 MHz, achieved in a wide-field, imaging-based survey with the Murchison Widefield Array. The implied FRB rate is consistent with that observed at higher frequencies, demonstrating that non-targeted wide-field surveys can uncover an unbiased, large low-frequency FRB population. This result challenges models invoking severe scattering or absorption to explain previous non-detections, and strengthens the case of low-frequency observations as promising avenue to study the local environment of FRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Discovery of Two Consecutive Profile Change Events in the Millisecond Pulsar PSR J0437-4715

The closest and brightest millisecond pulsar (MSP), PSR J0437-4715, is a high-priority pulsar for precision timing experiments, including the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project, where it is used for both pulsar timing and for polarization calibration. Using approximately seven years of observations obtained with the Ultra-Wideband Low-Frequency receiver on Murriyang, CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope, we investigate the long-term spectro-polarimetric variability of PSR J0437-4715. We report the discovery of two consecutive discrete profile change events exhibiting the same phase-localised morphological variations, the first such behaviour reported in any MSP. Both events affect three phase-localised regions of the pulse profile that exhibit coupled and anti-correlated temporal evolution. We also identified, and corrected for, systematic profile variability induced by polarization calibration errors arising from long-term drift of the polarimetric properties of the receiver. The profile change exhibits frequency-dependent evolution in total intensity, together with variations in linear polarization, position angle and fractional linear polarization. These results confirm a magnetospheric origin for the events rather than propagation effects caused by the interstellar medium, and provide potential new constraints on MSP emission models.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

No Measurable Changes in Radio and X-ray Emission Surrounding Glitches in the Young Pulsar PSR J2229+6114

We present our first result from an ongoing pulsar glitch monitoring campaign at the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), in which we analyzed the radio and X-ray emission surrounding four glitches in PSR~J2229+6114. Using daily CHIME observations, we detected a glitch in PSR~J2229+6114 in near-real time and triggered an X-ray follow-up with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) two days after the glitch. We identified three additional glitch events in archival CHIME/Pulsar observations that coincided with an independent X-ray observing campaign with the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER).. Our data show there is no measurable change in the source's X-ray and radio emission during the four glitch events, in stark contrast to the post-glitch activity in high-magnetic-field, rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs), which have been observed to exhibit magnetar-like X-ray outbursts immediately after large glitches. Those high-magnetic-field (high-$B$) RPPs are considered transitional objects between ordinary RPPs and magnetars, thereby leading to a unifying neutron star model in which the inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength serves as a unifying parameter. However, such a model remains challenged, in part, by the lack of constraints near the low-$B$ end of the high-$B$ regime, and our result provides additional evidence that magnetar-like post-glitch activity is likely more common among high-$B$ RPPs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Generalized Non-linear Bayesian Pulsar Timing with Enterprise

In this study, we use the Bayesian methods in the Enterprise package to examine the fully general parameterization of pulsar timing models in tandem with noise. We investigate four pulsars, PSR J1600$-$3053, PSR J2043+1711, PSR J0740+6620, and PSR J1640+2224, through the lens of Bayesian timing. These four are selected as they are well-studied, but exhibit interesting characteristics under the lens of Bayesian timing. Our new pulsar mass constraints (medians and 68\% confidence intervals) for our fully general non-linear Bayesian timing models are $m_{\mathrm{p}}=1.6(1)~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ for PSR J2043+1711 and $m_{\mathrm{p}}=2.3^{+0.9}_{-0.7}~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ for PSR J1600$-$3053 both using the NANOGrav 12.5-yr data release, and $m_{\mathrm{p}}=2.06(6)~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ for PSR J0740+6620 using the data from Fonseca, et al., 2021. We investigate the effects on placing physical priors on timing model parameters, including restricting the upper limit on the pulsar mass for PSR J1640+2224, which has a mass often estimated to be greater than $3~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. We find \ark{that restricting the allowed sampling space of the pulsar mass for PSR J1640+2224 to} $m_{\mathrm{p}}<3~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ results in a pulsar mass of $m_{\mathrm{p}}=2.2(5)~\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ for PSR J1640+2224 using the NANOGrav 12.5-yr data release. For the first time, we find evidence for intrinsic red noise in PSR J2043+1711. We show how fully general Bayesian timing can better model the interplay of the intrinsic noise and the timing parameters.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Pulsar Timing Array Sensitivity to Anisotropy: Empirical Sensitivity Curves, Scaling Relations, and the Multi-Resolution Pixel Basis

We quantify pulsar timing array (PTA) sensitivity to anisotropy in the gravitational wave background using the cross-correlation based Fisher information matrix in the pixel and spherical harmonic bases. We use a set of simulations to empirically determine scaling relations of a PTA's sensitivity to anisotropy with the number of pulsars $N_\mathrm{psr}$ in the array, the error $δt$ on the times of arrival, the frequency $f_\mathrm{GW}$ of the gravitational waves, and the angular scale $ΔΩ$ of the anisotropy. The sensitivity scales approximately as $N_\mathrm{psr}^{0.8}$, $δt^{-0.08}$, and $ΔΩ^{1.6}-ΔΩ^{2.1}$ (depending on the ranges of $\ell$ and $m$ under consideration). In addition, we use realistic simulations to project the NANOGrav PTA sensitivity to a 30-year baseline and quantify the growth in sensitivity at several timeslices. Except at the lowest frequencies, we find negligible effect on sensitivity through increasing the observation duration only. Finally, we introduce a multi-resolution pixel basis motivated by the large dependence of the sensitivity on sky location, and demonstrate the operation of the basis through a set of injections and recoveries.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Mitigating the Timing Impact of Anomalous Pulse Profile Shape Variability in PSR J1713+0747 with Gaussian Component Modeling

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) achieves sub-microsecond timing precision for several millisecond pulsars in its pulsar timing array (PTA) with the objective of detecting and characterizing nanohertz gravitational waves. PSR J1713+0747 is one of the most precisely timed pulsars in the array, achieving sub-microsecond timing precision. However, in April 2021, PSR J1713+0747 underwent a sudden and unusual change in pulse shape that disrupted its timing stability. As PSR J1713+0747 is a key contributor to PTA sensitivity, variations in its pulse profile significantly affect the array's sensitivity to nanohertz gravitational waves. We apply frequency-dependent Gaussian component models to decompose the pulse profile and track the evolution of individual components through the event. This component-level method maintains phase-connected timing across the shape-change event. At L-band, the recovered TOAs have a median uncertainty of ~0.47 microseconds compared to ~0.69 microseconds for standard template matching. At 820 MHz, where profile evolution is stronger, the recovered TOAs have a median uncertainty of ~1.63 microseconds compared to ~0.67 microseconds for standard template matching. The recovered TOAs achieve timing uncertainties comparable to conventional template matching while allowing data affected by profile variability to be retained in PTA gravitational-wave analyses. These results represent an initial step toward profile-domain timing methods capable of accounting for pulse-profile evolution while reducing the need for additional timing model parameters.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

CHIME/Slow overview and pilot survey: A new backend to search for second-duration radio transients with the CHIME telescope

We present an overview of CHIME/Slow, a real-time transient search backend under development to search for second-duration radio transients using the CHIME telescope, and results obtained from a pilot survey carried out using the prototype version of the search pipeline. The prototype CHIME/Slow pipeline was tested on archival data obtained in December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023 with a total on-sky time of 17 days with an instantaneous Field of View (FoV) of $\sim$13 deg$^2$ . In this pilot survey, we detected nine bursts, one from a new non-repeating source and eight from the known hyperactive repeating source FRB 20220912A. Out of these nine bursts, two bursts from the repeater were not detected by CHIME/FRB, while the non-repeater was detected in the side-lobe of a beam in the CHIME/FRB exhibiting shorter pulse width and narrower bandwidth compared to the CHIME/Slow detection. Here we report properties of the bursts, discuss the sensitivity and completeness of the current version of the CHIME/Slow pipeline, and outline future development to improve its performance. Finally, based on these results, we report the all-sky rate (95% credible region) of radio transients with pulse widths between 16 ms to 5 s, fluence above 5 Jy ms and observing frequency of 600 MHz to be between 184 and 4556 bursts sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Evaluating the Fourier Approximation in Pulsar Timing Array Analysis

Pulsar timing arrays search for stochastic processes such as gravitational waves by comparing pulse time of arrival data for millisecond pulsars to expectations from a background with a given power spectral density (PSD). To make the analysis computationally tractable, the Bayesian likelihood is usually computed using an approximation in which the signal is taken to be a sum of Fourier modes appropriate to the total time of observation, even though the true signal is not periodic. We study the difference between likelihoods computed with this Fourier approximation method for power law spectra and those computed exactly (or using more-closely spaced frequencies as a proxy for the exact result) in the NANOGrav 15-year dataset. We find that the true marginal likelihoods for power-law PSDs are on average about half as large as the likelihoods computed using the Fourier approximation. This could lead to an error of a factor of two in model comparison. However, in the important comparison of uncorrelated vs. Hellings-Downs correlated models, a very similar correction appears in both, so the model comparison is essentially unaffected. We also compare parameter estimation results for power law PSDs, finding little difference between the methods. We briefly discuss spectra with sharper features, for which the approximation could be much worse.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Impacts of Customized Chromatic Noise Models on Gravitational Wave Analyses

We report updated nHz gravitational wave (GW) significance, characterization, and interpretations using the customized chromatic-noise models (CNMs) developed in Larsen, Baier et al. (2026). for the NANOGrav 15-year data set. We find increased evidence for the Hellings-Downs (HD) correlation signature of the stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB), with a Bayes factor of $1571\pm14$ for HD-correlations over a common uncorrelated red-noise process using a power-law model with $14$ Fourier modes. We find this $\sim8\times$ increase in Bayes factor from Agazie et al. (2023a) is a result of improved noise mitigation. Assuming an analytic null distribution for the frequentist interpulsar correlation statistic, this corresponds to a slightly more significant measurement from $3.16σ$ to $3.32σ$ against the no-correlation scenario. Spectral inference with CNMs brings the power-law GWB amplitude down to $A_{\rm GWB} = 2.1^{+0.6}_{-0.5}\times10^{-15}$ at fixed $γ_{\rm GWB} = 13/3$. In a varied-$γ$ analysis, the spectral index increases to $γ_{\rm GWB}=3.5^{+0.7}_{-0.6}$. We report updates on an all-sky continuous gravitational wave (CW) search as well as select targeted searches and calculate a $3.2\times$ larger detection volume for the NANOGrav detector. With CNMs, we find reduced evidence for a non-Einsteinian, scalar-transverse mode of gravity. Finally, we reinterpret the GWB first with the assumption of an astrophysical background sourced by SMBHBs and then assuming the more exotic origins of cosmic inflation, a first-order cosmological phase transition, and stable cosmic strings. Under both the SMBHB hypothesis and the cosmological hypotheses, we see only marginal shifts in model parameter posteriors which are consistent with the slightly quieter and steeper power-law GWB spectrum.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Customized Chromatic Noise Models

Pulsar timing arrays conduct low-frequency gravitational wave searches, which require comprehensive accounting of various noise sources to achieve robust results. Interstellar propagation effects (e.g., dispersion and scattering) are especially complex noise sources, introducing chromatic delays that can reduce sensitivity to gravitational waves and bias their inference if left unmodeled. These delays also strongly depend on the line of sight properties to each individual pulsar. To address this, we present customized chromatic noise models for 67 pulsars in the NANOGrav 15 yr dataset. These models are selected from an expanded suite of Gaussian processes to simultaneously characterize multiple types of chromatic delays and are tailored to each pulsar's dataset. Alongside probing the interstellar medium, we use these models to infer the solar wind electron density over the course of $\sim 1.5$ solar cycles. We also find evidence for non-dispersive chromatic delays in 21 out of 67 NANOGrav pulsars. After applying our chromatic models, we observe significant impacts on the inference of achromatic noise in 19 out of 67 pulsars, finding in several cases that a previously significant achromatic noise process can be partially or entirely described as chromatic. These results demonstrate that refined noise modeling is essential to enhance the sensitivity and accuracy of low-frequency gravitational wave searches with pulsar timing arrays.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Gravitational Wave Measurement of the $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ Intrinsic Scatter at High Redshift

The observed GWB spectrum is higher in amplitude than model predictions by a factor of 2-3. Using a semi-analytic model, we evaluate the effect of a high-scatter supermassive black hole (SMBH) scaling relation ($M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$) on models of the nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB). By implementing an intrinsic scatter of the $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ relation, which is larger at higher redshift, but matches local observations, we find that the amplitude of GWB models increases to be consistent with the low-frequency end of the GWB spectrum. This amplitude increase is not uniform across frequencies, a strongly evolving scatter preferentially increases the number density of the most massive SMBHs which, in the GWB spectrum, minimizes the strength of the low-frequency turnover. Our models with positively evolving intrinsic scatter can reproduce the electromagnetically observed overmassive SMBHs at $4 < z < 6$ without changing the $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ normalization though we find that including moderate normalization evolution marginally improves fits to the GWB data. We conclude that the $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ relation which best describes the available GWB and electromagnetic data sets has intrinsic scatter that evolves as $\varepsilon(z) = \varepsilon_0 + (0.56 \pm 0.4) \log_{10}(1 + z)$ and normalization that evolves as $α(z) = α_0 (1 + z)^{0.84 \pm 0.35}$. The results of this work imply that the $M_\mathrm{BH}$-$M_\mathrm{bulge}$ relation we see today is not universal throughout cosmic time and that a diversity of seeding models and growth mechanisms may be at play in the early stages of SMBH-galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Discovery of a 24-millisecond pulsar in a very long orbit with the Murchison Widefield Array

We report the discovery of PSR J0125$-$5854, a pulsar with a spin period of 24 ms and a dispersion measure of 11.66 pc cm$^-3$ in the ongoing Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) survey with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The pulsar is located at a high Galactic latitude of $-57^{\circ}$, and at a distance of 0.5$\text{-}$1 kpc per the Galactic electron density models. Follow-up observations with the MWA and MeerKAT telescopes have revealed that this pulsar is in a binary system with an orbital period of more than 290 days, and a steep spectrum (flux density, $ S \propto ν^α $, where $ν$ is frequency and $ α= -2.2 \pm 0.3 $). Analysis of current observational data hints at a potential binary configuration with an orbital period of $833.60 \pm 0.04$ days, a projected semi-major axis of $241.36 \pm 0.05$ light-seconds, and a minimum companion mass $0.4152 \pm 0.0001$ M$_\odot$, with a low eccentricity orbit of $0.0052 \pm 0.0006$. We discuss the potential formation channels for this system, and conjecture that the companion is likely a Helium white dwarf. Further observations are required in order to better constrain the orbital and spin parameters. We discuss the implications of this discovery, which emerged after processing a small fraction of survey data, on the prospects of finding more millisecond pulsars with the SMART survey, and with future surveys planned with the low-frequency SKA-Low.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

The NANOGrav 15-Year Data Set: A Case Study for Simplified Dispersion Measure Modeling for PSR J1455-3330 and the Impact on Gravitational Wave Sensitivity

Evidence for a low-frequency gravitational-wave background using pulsar timing arrays has generated recent interest into its underlying contributing sources. However, multiple investigations have seen that the significance of the evidence does not change with choice of pulsar modeling techniques but the resulting parameters from the gravitational wave searches do. PSR J1455-3330 is one of the longest-observed pulsars in the array monitored by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) but showed no evidence for long-timescale red noise, either intrinsic or the common signal found among many pulsars in the array. In this work, we argue that NANOGrav's piecewise-constant function used to model variations in radio-frequency-dependent dispersive delay should not be used for this pulsar, and a much simpler physical model of a fixed solar wind density plus a linear trend in dispersion measure is preferred. When the original model is replaced, (i) the pulsar's timing parallax signal changes from an upper limit to a significant detection, (ii) red noise becomes significant, and (iii) the red noise is consistent with the common signal found for the other pulsars. Neither of these signals are radio-frequency dependent. While the same physical motivation will not apply to many of the pulsars currently used in pulsar timing arrays, we argue for careful physically-motivated timing and noise modeling of pulsars used in precision timing experiments.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Radio Monitoring Campaign of Active Repeater FRB 20220912A with CHIME

FRB 20220912A is a highly active repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source, discovered by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) using its real-time FRB detection system (CHIME/FRB). Here, we present results from a radio monitoring campaign of FRB 20220912A using CHIME, including ~200 hours of data collected by CHIME/Pulsar, spanning 1.5 years following the source's discovery. We present an analysis of a sample of 828 CHIME-detected bursts from FRB 20220912A, in the 400-800 MHz radio frequency band. The source remains highly active for ~10 weeks and has a bimodal wait-time distribution with peaks at $160^{+120}_{-70}$ ms and $306^{+14}_{-13}$ s. Assuming a radio efficiency factor of $10^{-4}$ and a beaming angle of 0.1, we estimate the total emitted energy from the source over the entire observing campaign to be $2 \times 10^{43}$ ergs. We report a 2.3$σ$ detection of a linear increase in the DM of $1.4 \pm 0.6$ pc cm$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$, with no significant trend in rotation measure (with a 3$σ$ upper limit of 13.4 rad m$^{-2}$ yr$^{-1}$). We contrast our findings with other active repeaters, which exhibit different DM and RM evolution to indicate that FRB 20220912A may reside in a unique local environment.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

The NANOGrav 15 yr and 20 yr Datasets: Timing Events and Pulse Shape Changes

The average pulse shape of a pulsar is typically stable over decadal timescales, enabling estimation of pulse times of arrival to better than a small fraction of the pulse width using matched filtering techniques. However, in North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) observations of PSR J1713+0747, three discrete timing events that depart from the prevailing timing model have been seen in the last 20 yr. All three correspond to morphological changes in pulse shape. Using principal component analysis, we analyze the pulse profiles of nine NANOGrav pulsars, including seven with profiles from the 15 yr dataset and two with additional profiles from the forthcoming 20 yr dataset. We recover the three known pulse shape change events in PSR J1713+0747 and another previously known event in PSR J1643$-$1224. We implement a ranking metric for candidate events and address four highly ranked candidates in this nine-pulsar sample. We also recover known slow pulse shape variations in PSR J1643$-$1224, PSR J1903+0327, and PSR B1937+21 and report an unexpected recurrence after ~10 yr of one such variation in PSR B1937+21.

astro-ph.HE↗