Where Are the Supermassive Black Holes Measured by PTAs? - Astro Seminar

This seminar explores the groundbreaking evidence for low-frequency gravitational waves detected by Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) and investigates the cosmic origins of these signals. Join Gabriela Sato-Polito from the Institute for Advanced Study as she delves into how PTAs function as galaxy-wide gravitational wave detectors by monitoring millisecond pulsars with stable rotational periods. Discover what scientists are learning from mapping the nano-hertz gravitational wave sky, with particular focus on comparing PTA detections with expected signals from electromagnetic observations. The presentation addresses intriguing findings that suggest the measured gravitational wave amplitude is larger than anticipated based on current models, and examines what this reveals about the population of inspiralling supermassive black holes likely generating these waves. Learn how researchers are already extracting information about the typical number of sources contributing to the gravitational wave background from current PTA data.