The Galactic Pulse: Pulsar Timing Arrays Detect Long-Period Gravitational Waves

Astrophysicists have detected long-period gravitational waves using data from 68 pulsars, as reported by NANOGrav. This discovery, based on 15 years of data, aligns with predictions of general relativity and offers insights into supermassive black holes and galaxy mergers. The research involved significant collaboration and technological advancements.

Astrophysicists using large radio telescopes to observe a collection of cosmic clocks in our Galaxy have found evidence for gravitational waves that oscillate with periods of years to decades, according to a set of papers published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The gravitational-wave signal was observed in 15 years of data acquired by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Physics Frontiers Center (PFC), a collaboration of more than 190 scientists from the US and Canada who use pulsars to search for gravitational waves. International collaborations using telescopes in Europe, India, Australia, and China have independently reported similar results.