arXiv subjects

L. Lentati

Publications and source records attributed to L. Lentati.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

The International Pulsar Timing Array second data release: Search for an isotropic Gravitational Wave Background

We searched for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background in the second data release of the International Pulsar Timing Array, a global collaboration synthesizing decadal-length pulsar-timing campaigns in North America, Europe, and Australia. In our reference search for a power law strain spectrum of the form $h_c = A(f/1\,\mathrm{yr}^{-1})^α$, we found strong evidence for a spectrally-similar low-frequency stochastic process of amplitude $A = 3.8^{+6.3}_{-2.5}\times10^{-15}$ and spectral index $α= -0.5 \pm 0.5$, where the uncertainties represent 95\% credible regions, using information from the auto- and cross-correlation terms between the pulsars in the array. For a spectral index of $α= -2/3$, as expected from a population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries, the recovered amplitude is $A = 2.8^{+1.2}_{-0.8}\times10^{-15}$. Nonetheless, no significant evidence of the Hellings-Downs correlations that would indicate a gravitational-wave origin was found. We also analyzed the constituent data from the individual pulsar timing arrays in a consistent way, and clearly demonstrate that the combined international data set is more sensitive. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this combined data set produces comparable constraints to recent single-array data sets which have more data than the constituent parts of the combination. Future international data releases will deliver increased sensitivity to gravitational wave radiation, and significantly increase the detection probability.

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arXiv2020

Timing of young radio pulsars II. Braking indices and their interpretation

In Paper I of this series, we detected a significant value of the braking index ($n$) for 19 young, high-$\dot{E}$ radio pulsars using $\sim$ 10 years of timing observations from the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Here we investigate this result in more detail using a Bayesian pulsar timing framework to model timing noise and to perform selection to distinguish between models containing exponential glitch recovery and braking index signatures. We show that consistent values of $n$ are maintained with the addition of substantial archival data, even in the presence of glitches. We provide strong arguments that our measurements are unlikely due to exponential recovery signals from unseen glitches even though glitches play a key role in the evolution of a pulsar's spin frequency. We conclude that, at least over decadal time scales, the value of $n$ can be significantly larger than the canonical 3 and discuss the implications for the evolution of pulsars.

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arXiv2019

The International Pulsar Timing Array: Second data release

In this paper, we describe the International Pulsar Timing Array second data release, which includes recent pulsar timing data obtained by three regional consortia: the European Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. We analyse and where possible combine high-precision timing data for 65 millisecond pulsars which are regularly observed by these groups. A basic noise analysis, including the processes which are both correlated and uncorrelated in time, provides noise models and timing ephemerides for the pulsars. We find that the timing precisions of pulsars are generally improved compared to the previous data release, mainly due to the addition of new data in the combination. The main purpose of this work is to create the most up-to-date IPTA data release. These data are publicly available for searches for low-frequency gravitational waves and other pulsar science.

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arXiv2019

Timing of young radio pulsars I: Timing noise, periodic modulation and proper motion

The smooth spin-down of young pulsars is perturbed by two non-deterministic phenomenon, glitches and timing noise. Although the timing noise provides insights into nuclear and plasma physics at extreme densities, it acts as a barrier to high-precision pulsar timing experiments. An improved methodology based on Bayesian inference is developed to simultaneously model the stochastic and deterministic parameters for a sample of 85 high-$\dot{E}$ radio pulsars observed for $\sim$ 10 years with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Timing noise is known to be a red process and we develop a parametrization based on the red-noise amplitude ($A_{\rm red}$) and spectral index ($β$). We measure the median $A_{\rm red}$ to be $-10.4^{+1.8}_{-1.7}$ yr$^{3/2}$ and $β$ to be $-5.2^{+3.0}_{-3.8}$ and show that the strength of timing noise scales proportionally to $ν^{1}|\dotν|^{-0.6\pm0.1}$, where $ν$ is the spin frequency of the pulsar and $\dotν$ its spin-down rate. Finally, we measure significant braking indices for 19 pulsars, proper motions for two pulsars and discuss the presence of periodic modulation in the arrival times of five pulsars.

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arXiv2018

Improving timing sensitivity in the microhertz frequency regime: limits from PSR J1713$+$0747 on gravitational waves produced by super-massive black-hole binaries

We search for continuous gravitational waves (CGWs) produced by individual super-massive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs) in circular orbits using high-cadence timing observations of PSR J1713$+$0747. We observe this millisecond pulsar using the telescopes in the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) with an average cadence of approximately 1.6 days over the period between April 2011 and July 2015, including an approximately daily average between February 2013 and April 2014. The high-cadence observations are used to improve the pulsar timing sensitivity across the GW frequency range of $0.008-5$ $μ$Hz. We use two algorithms in the analysis, including a spectral fitting method and a Bayesian approach. For an independent comparison, we also use a previously published Bayesian algorithm. We find that the Bayesian approaches provide optimal results and the timing observations of the pulsar place a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of CGWs to be $\lesssim3.5\times10^{-13}$ at a reference frequency of 1 $μ$Hz. We also find a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of low-frequency CGWs to be $\lesssim1.4\times10^{-14}$ at a reference frequency of 20~nHz.

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arXiv2018

Tests of Gravitational Symmetries with Pulsar Binary J1713+0747

Symmetries play an important role in modern theories of gravity. The strong equivalence principle (SEP) constitutes a collection of gravitational symmetries which are all implemented by general relativity. Alternative theories, however, are generally expected to violate some aspects of SEP. We test three aspects of SEP using observed change rates in the orbital period and eccentricity of binary pulsar J1713+0747: 1. the gravitational constant's constancy as part of locational invariance of gravitation; 2. the post-Newtonian parameter $\hatα_3$ in gravitational Lorentz invariance; 3. the universality of free fall (UFF) for strongly self-gravitating bodies. Based on the pulsar timing result of the combined dataset from the North American Nanohertz Gravitational Observatory (NANOGrav) and the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA), we find $\dot{G}/G = (-0.1 \pm 0.9) \times 10^{-12}\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$, which is weaker than Solar system limits, but applies for strongly self-gravitating objects. Furthermore, we obtain the constraints $|Δ|< 0.002$ for the UFF test and $-3\times10^{-20} < \hatα_3 < 4\times10^{-20}$ at 95% confidence. These are the first direct UFF and $\hatα_3$ tests based on pulsar binaries, and they overcome various limitations of previous tests.

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arXiv2017

Robust Estimation of Scattering in Pulsar Timing Analysis

We present a robust approach to incorporating models for the time-variable broadening of the pulse profile due to scattering in the ionized interstellar medium into profile-domain pulsar timing analysis. We use this approach to simultaneously estimate temporal variations in both the dispersion measure (DM) and scattering, together with a model for the pulse profile that includes smooth evolution as a function of frequency, and the pulsar's timing model. We show that fixing the scattering timescales when forming time-of-arrival estimates, as has been suggested in the context of traditional pulsar timing analysis, can significantly underestimate the uncertainties in both DM, and the arrival time of the pulse, leading to bias in the timing parameters. We apply our method using a new, publicly available, GPU accelerated code, both to simulations, and observations of the millisecond pulsar PSR J1643$-$1224. This pulsar is known to exhibit significant scattering variability compared to typical millisecond pulsars, and we find including low-frequency ($< 1$ GHz) data without a model for these scattering variations leads to significant periodic structure in the DM, and also biases the astrometric parameters at the $4σ$ level, for example, changing proper motion in right ascension by $0.50 \pm 0.12$. If low frequency observations are to be included when significant scattering variations are present, we conclude it is necessary to not just model those variations, but also to sample the parameters that describe the variations simultaneously with all other parameters in the model, a task for which profile domain pulsar timing is ideally suited.

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arXiv2017

All correlations must die: Assessing the significance of a stochastic gravitational-wave background in pulsar-timing arrays

We present two methods for determining the significance of a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background affecting a pulsar-timing array, where detection is based on evidence for quadrupolar spatial correlations between pulsars. Rather than constructing noise simulations, we eliminate the GWB spatial correlations in the true datasets to assess detection significance with all real data features intact. In our first method, we perform random phase shifts in the signal-model basis functions. This phase shifting eliminates signal phase coherence between pulsars, while keeping the statistical properties of the pulsar timing residuals intact. We then explore a method to null correlations between pulsars by using a "scrambled" overlap-reduction function in the signal model for the array. This scrambled function is orthogonal to what we expect of a real GW background signal. We demonstrate the efficacy of these methods using Bayesian model selection on a set of simulated datasets that contain a stochastic GW signal, timing noise, undiagnosed glitches, and uncertainties in the Solar system ephemeris. Finally, we introduce an overarching formalism under which these two techniques are naturally linked. These methods are immediately applicable to all current pulsar-timing array datasets, and should become standard tools for future analyses.

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arXiv2016

Wide-band Profile Domain Pulsar Timing Analysis

We extend profile domain pulsar timing to incorporate wide-band effects such as frequency-dependent profile evolution and broadband shape variation in the pulse profile. We also incorporate models for temporal variations in both pulse width and in the separation in phase of the main pulse and interpulse. We perform the analysis with both nested sampling and Hamiltonian Monte Carlo methods. In the latter case we introduce a new parameterisation of the posterior that is extremely efficient in the low signal-to-noise regime and can be readily applied to a wide range of scientific problems. We apply this methodology to a series of simulations, and to between seven and nine yr of observations for PSRs J1713$+$0747, J1744$-$1134, and J1909$-$3744 with frequency coverage that spans 700-3600MHz. We use a smooth model for profile evolution across the full frequency range, and compare smooth and piecewise models for the temporal variations in DM. We find the profile domain framework consistently results in improved timing precision compared to the standard analysis paradigm by as much as 40% for timing parameters. Incorporating smoothness in the DM variations into the model further improves timing precision by as much as 30%. For PSR J1713+0747 we also detect pulse shape variation uncorrelated between epochs, which we attribute to variation intrinsic to the pulsar at a level consistent with previously published analyses. Not accounting for this shape variation biases the measured arrival times at the level of $\sim$30ns, the same order of magnitude as the expected shift due to gravitational-waves in the pulsar timing band.

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arXiv2016

A glitch in the millisecond pulsar J0613-0200

We present evidence for a small glitch in the spin evolution of the millisecond pulsar J0613$-$0200, using the EPTA Data Release 1.0, combined with Jodrell Bank analogue filterbank TOAs recorded with the Lovell telescope and Effelsberg Pulsar Observing System TOAs. A spin frequency step of 0.82(3) nHz and frequency derivative step of ${-1.6(39) \times 10^{-19}\,\text{Hz} \ \text{s}^{-1}}$ are measured at the epoch of MJD 50888(30). After PSR B1821$-$24A, this is only the second glitch ever observed in a millisecond pulsar, with a fractional size in frequency of ${Δν/ν=2.5(1) \times 10^{-12}}$, which is several times smaller than the previous smallest glitch. PSR J0613$-$0200 is used in gravitational wave searches with pulsar timing arrays, and is to date only the second such pulsar to have experienced a glitch in a combined 886 pulsar-years of observations. We find that accurately modelling the glitch does not impact the timing precision for pulsar timing array applications. We estimate that for the current set of millisecond pulsars included in the International Pulsar Timing Array, there is a probability of $\sim 50$% that another glitch will be observed in a timing array pulsar within 10 years.

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arXiv2016

Proper motions of 15 pulsars: a comparison between Bayesian and frequentist algorithms

We present proper motions for 15 pulsars which are observed regularly by the Nanshan 25-m radio telescope. Two methods, the frequentist method (Coles et al.2011) and the Bayesian (Lentati et al. 2014) method, are used and the results are compared. We demonstrate that the two methods can be applied to young pulsar data sets that exhibit large amounts of timing noise with steep spectral exponents and give consistent results. The measured positions also agree with very-long-baseline interferometric positions. Proper motions for four pulsars are obtained for the first time, and improved values are obtained for five pulsars.

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arXiv2016

A millisecond pulsar in an extremely wide binary system

We report on 22 yrs of radio timing observations of the millisecond pulsar J1024$-$0719 by the telescopes participating in the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). These observations reveal a significant second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency and confirm the discrepancy between the parallax and Shklovskii distances that has been reported earlier. We also present optical astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy of 2MASS J10243869$-$0719190. We find that it is a low-metallicity main-sequence star (K7V spectral type, $\mathrm{[M/H]}=-1.0$, $T_\mathrm{eff}=4050\pm50$ K) and that its position, proper motion and distance are consistent with those of PSR J1024$-$0719. We conclude that PSR J1024$-$0719 and 2MASS J10243869$-$0719190 form a common proper motion pair and are gravitationally bound. The gravitational interaction between the main-sequence star and the pulsar accounts for the spin frequency derivatives, which in turn resolves the distance discrepancy. Our observations suggest that the pulsar and main-sequence star are in an extremely wide ($P_\mathrm{b}>200$ yr) orbit. Combining the radial velocity of the companion and proper motion of the pulsar, we find that the binary system has a high spatial velocity of $384\pm45$ km s$^{-1}$ with respect to the local standard of rest and has a Galactic orbit consistent with halo objects. Since the observed main-sequence companion star cannot have recycled the pulsar to millisecond spin periods, an exotic formation scenario is required. We demonstrate that this extremely wide-orbit binary could have evolved from a triple system that underwent an asymmetric supernova explosion, though find that significant fine-tuning during the explosion is required. Finally, we discuss the implications of the long period orbit on the timing stability of PSR J1024$-$0719 in light of its inclusion in pulsar timing arrays.

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arXiv2016

High-precision timing of 42 millisecond pulsars with the European Pulsar Timing Array

We report on the high-precision timing of 42 radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed by the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). This EPTA Data Release 1.0 extends up to mid-2014 and baselines range from 7-18 years. It forms the basis for the stochastic gravitational-wave background, anisotropic background, and continuous-wave limits recently presented by the EPTA elsewhere. The Bayesian timing analysis performed with TempoNest yields the detection of several new parameters: seven parallaxes, nine proper motions and, in the case of six binary pulsars, an apparent change of the semi-major axis. We find the NE2001 Galactic electron density model to be a better match to our parallax distances (after correction from the Lutz-Kelker bias) than the M2 and M3 models by Schnitzeler (2012). However, we measure an average uncertainty of 80\% (fractional) for NE2001, three times larger than what is typically assumed in the literature. We revisit the transverse velocity distribution for a set of 19 isolated and 57 binary MSPs and find no statistical difference between these two populations. We detect Shapiro delay in the timing residuals of PSRs J1600$-$3053 and J1918$-$0642, implying pulsar and companion masses $m_p=1.22_{-0.35}^{+0.5} \text{M}_{\odot}$, $m_c = 0.21_{-0.04}^{+0.06} \text{M}_{\odot }$ and $m_p=1.25_{-0.4}^{+0.6} \text{M}_{\odot}$, $m_c = 0.23_{-0.05}^{+0.07} \text{M}_{\odot }$, respectively. Finally, we use the measurement of the orbital period derivative to set a stringent constraint on the distance to PSRs J1012$+$5307 and J1909$-$3744, and set limits on the longitude of ascending node through the search of the annual-orbital parallax for PSRs J1600$-$3053 and J1909$-$3744.

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arXiv2016

From Spin Noise to Systematics: Stochastic Processes in the First International Pulsar Timing Array Data Release

We analyse the stochastic properties of the 49 pulsars that comprise the first International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) data release. We use Bayesian methodology, performing model selection to determine the optimal description of the stochastic signals present in each pulsar. In addition to spin-noise and dispersion-measure (DM) variations, these models can include timing noise unique to a single observing system, or frequency band. We show the improved radio-frequency coverage and presence of overlapping data from different observing systems in the IPTA data set enables us to separate both system and band-dependent effects with much greater efficacy than in the individual PTA data sets. For example, we show that PSR J1643$-$1224 has, in addition to DM variations, significant band-dependent noise that is coherent between PTAs which we interpret as coming from time-variable scattering or refraction in the ionised interstellar medium. Failing to model these different contributions appropriately can dramatically alter the astrophysical interpretation of the stochastic signals observed in the residuals. In some cases, the spectral exponent of the spin noise signal can vary from 1.6 to 4 depending upon the model, which has direct implications for the long-term sensitivity of the pulsar to a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. By using a more appropriate model, however, we can greatly improve a pulsar's sensitivity to GWs. For example, including system and band-dependent signals in the PSR J0437$-$4715 data set improves the upper limit on a fiducial GW background by $\sim 60\%$ compared to a model that includes DM variations and spin-noise only.

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arXiv2016

The International Pulsar Timing Array: First Data Release

The highly stable spin of neutron stars can be exploited for a variety of (astro-)physical investigations. In particular arrays of pulsars with rotational periods of the order of milliseconds can be used to detect correlated signals such as those caused by gravitational waves. Three such "Pulsar Timing Arrays" (PTAs) have been set up around the world over the past decades and collectively form the "International" PTA (IPTA). In this paper, we describe the first joint analysis of the data from the three regional PTAs, i.e. of the first IPTA data set. We describe the available PTA data, the approach presently followed for its combination and suggest improvements for future PTA research. Particular attention is paid to subtle details (such as underestimation of measurement uncertainty and long-period noise) that have often been ignored but which become important in this unprecedentedly large and inhomogeneous data set. We identify and describe in detail several factors that complicate IPTA research and provide recommendations for future pulsar timing efforts. The first IPTA data release presented here (and available online) is used to demonstrate the IPTA's potential of improving upon gravitational-wave limits placed by individual PTAs by a factor of ~2 and provides a 2-sigma limit on the dimensionless amplitude of a stochastic GWB of 1.7x10^{-15} at a frequency of 1 yr^{-1}. This is 1.7 times less constraining than the limit placed by (Shannon et al. 2015), due mostly to the more recent, high-quality data they used.

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arXiv2016

The noise properties of 42 millisecond pulsars from the European Pulsar Timing Array and their impact on gravitational wave searches

The sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays to gravitational waves depends on the noise present in the individual pulsar timing data. Noise may be either intrinsic or extrinsic to the pulsar. Intrinsic sources of noise will include rotational instabilities, for example. Extrinsic sources of noise include contributions from physical processes which are not sufficiently well modelled, for example, dispersion and scattering effects, analysis errors and instrumental instabilities. We present the results from a noise analysis for 42 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed with the European Pulsar Timing Array. For characterising the low-frequency, stochastic and achromatic noise component, or "timing noise", we employ two methods, based on Bayesian and frequentist statistics. For 25 MSPs, we achieve statistically significant measurements of their timing noise parameters and find that the two methods give consistent results. For the remaining 17 MSPs, we place upper limits on the timing noise amplitude at the 95% confidence level. We additionally place an upper limit on the contribution to the pulsar noise budget from errors in the reference terrestrial time standards (below 1%), and we find evidence for a noise component which is present only in the data of one of the four used telescopes. Finally, we estimate that the timing noise of individual pulsars reduces the sensitivity of this data set to an isotropic, stochastic GW background by a factor of >9.1 and by a factor of >2.3 for continuous GWs from resolvable, inspiralling supermassive black-hole binaries with circular orbits.

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arXiv2015

Profile Stochasticity in PSR J1909-3744

We extend the recently introduced Bayesian framework `Generative Pulsar Timing Analysis' to incorporate both pulse jitter (high frequency variation in the arrival time of the pulse) and epoch to epoch stochasticity in the shape of the pulse profile. This framework allows for a full timing analysis to be performed on the folded profile data, rather than the site arrival times as is typical in most timing studies. We apply this extended framework both to simulations, and to an 11 yr, 10 cm data set for PSR J1909$-$3744. Using simulations, we show that temporal profile variation can induce timing noise in the residuals that when performing a standard timing analysis is highly covariant with the signal expected from a gravitational wave (GW) background. When working in the profile domain, these variations are de-correlated from the expected GW signal, resulting in significant improvement in the obtained upper limits. Using the PSR J1909$-$3744 data set from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project, we find significant evidence for systematic high-frequency profile variation resulting from non-Gaussian noise in the oldest observing system, but no evidence for either detectable pulse jitter, or low-frequency profile shape variation. Using our profile domain framework we therefore obtain upper limits on a red noise process with a spectral index of $γ= 13/3$ of $1\times10^{-15}$, consistent with previously published limits.

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arXiv2015

Limits on anisotropy in the nanohertz stochastic gravitational-wave background

The paucity of observed supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) may imply that the gravitational wave background (GWB) from this population is anisotropic, rendering existing analyses sub-optimal. We present the first constraints on the angular distribution of a nanohertz stochastic GWB from circular, inspiral-driven SMBHBs using the $2015$ European Pulsar Timing Array data [Desvignes et al. (in prep.)]. Our analysis of the GWB in the $\sim 2 - 90$ nHz band shows consistency with isotropy, with the strain amplitude in $l>0$ spherical harmonic multipoles $\lesssim 40\%$ of the monopole value. We expect that these more general techniques will become standard tools to probe the angular distribution of source populations.

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