A group of Chinese scientists has recently found key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, marking a new era in nanohertz gravitational wave research. The research was based on pulsar timing observations carried out with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST).

A group of Chinese scientists has recently found key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, marking a new era in nanohertz gravitational wave research. The research was based on pulsar timing observations carried out with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST).

    • culpritus [any]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yes, the western detectors are not as sensitive, so they have to use a longer timeline to find similar patterns in the data. The Chinese setup is so much better that they can corroborate the data with a timeline of only 41 months.

      Taking advantage of FAST's high sensitivity, the CPTA research team monitored 57 millisecond pulsars with regular cadences for 41 months. The team found key evidence for quadrupole correlation signatures compatible with the prediction of nanohertz gravitational waves at a 4.6-sigma statistical confidence level (with a false alarm probability of two in a million).

      NANOGrav data set is over 15 years. So a rough estimate is that the Chinese setup is ~4x as sensitive.