Probing a stationary non-Gaussian background of stochastic gravitational waves with pulsar timing arrays

DOI10.1088/1475-7516/2020/01/017zbMATH Open1489.83007arXiv1910.04758OpenAlexW2980223340MaRDI QIDQ5067799FDOQ5067799

Authors: Cari Powell, Gianmassimo Tasinato 

Publication date: 4 April 2022

Published in: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We introduce the concept of stationary graviton non-Gaussianity (nG), an observable that can be probed in terms of 3-point correlation functions of a stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background. When evaluated in momentum space, stationary nG corresponds to folded bispectra of graviton nG. We determine 3-point overlap functions for testing stationary nG with pulsar timing array GW experiments, and we obtain the corresponding optimal signal-to-noise ratio. For the first time, we consider 3-point overlap functions including scalar graviton polarizations (which can be motivated in theories of modified gravity); moreover, we also calculate 3-point overlap functions for correlating pulsar timing array with ground based GW detectors. The value of the optimal signal-to-noise ratio depends on the number and position of monitored pulsars. We build geometrical quantities characterizing how such ratio depends on the pulsar system under consideration, and we evaluate these geometrical parameters using data from the IPTA collaboration. We quantitatively show how monitoring a large number of pulsars can increase the signal-to-noise ratio associated with measurements of stationary graviton nG.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.04758

zbMATH Keywords

gravitational wave detectorsgravitational waves/theoryprimordial gravitational waves (theory)gravitational waves/experiments

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Measures of association (correlation, canonical correlation, etc.) (62H20) Signal detection and filtering (aspects of stochastic processes) (60G35) Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15) Axiomatic quantum field theory; operator algebras (81T05) Other elementary particle theory in quantum theory (81V25) Observational and experimental questions in relativity and gravitational theory (83B05) Gravitational waves (83C35)

Cites Work

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Cited In (3)

• The PTA Hellings and Downs correlation unmasked by symmetries
• Testing the early universe with anisotropies of the gravitational wave background
• Primordial stochastic gravitational wave background anisotropies: in-in formalization and applications

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