Parkes observations for project P895 semester 2016APRS

Since the year 2005, the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project has been placing ever more stringent constraints on the amplitude of a gravitational wave background signal. Our most recent constraints rule out the standard models for galaxy formation and black hole evolution. It is essential for the PPTA project, its Northern Hemisphere counterparts and key science projects on MeerKAT and the SKA to know the amplitude of the expected gravitational wave signal. We therefore propose to observe our most precisely timed pulsar, PSR J1909-3744, regularly in order to either obtain the lowest bound possible before MeerKAT and the SKA are commissioned or to identify the characteristic gravitational wave signal in the data set for this single pulsar.

自2005年起，帕克斯脉冲星计时阵列（Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, PPTA）项目便持续对引力波背景信号的振幅施加日趋严苛的约束。我们最新的约束结果已排除了用于星系形成与黑洞演化的标准模型。对于PPTA项目、北半球同类项目，以及依托默尔卡特（MeerKAT）与平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）开展的关键科学项目而言，明确预期引力波信号的振幅至关重要。为此，我们提议对当前计时精度最高的脉冲星PSR J1909-3744开展定期观测，以期要么在默尔卡特与平方公里阵列正式启用前获得目前最严苛的约束上限，要么在该单颗脉冲星的观测数据集中识别出特征性引力波信号。