Evaluating the Fourier Approximation in Pulsar Timing Array Analysis

arXiv:2606.30536 · gr-qc, astro-ph.HE · Submitted 2026-06-29 · Read on arXiv

Yongqi Zhang, Hayden Scholz, Ken D. Olum, Lucas Steinberger, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Paul T. Baker, Paul R. Brook, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Timothy Dolch, Justin A. Ellis, Elizabeth C. Ferrara, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Gabriel E. Freedman, Nate Garver-Daniels, Peter A. Gentile, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, Megan L. Jones, David L. Kaplan, Matthew Kerr, Michael T. Lam, Duncan R. Lorimer, Jing Luo, Ryan S. Lynch, Alexander McEwen, Maura A. McLaughlin, Natasha McMann, Bradley W. Meyers, Cherry Ng, David J. Nice, Timothy T. Pennucci, Benetge B. P. Perera, Nihan S. Pol, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Paul S. Ray, Ann Schmiedekamp, Carl Schmiedekamp, Brent J. Shapiro-Albert, Ingrid H. Stairs, Kevin Stovall, Abhimanyu Susobhanan, Joseph K. Swiggum, Stephen R. Taylor, Michele Vallisneri, Rutger van Haasteren, Haley M. Wahl

gr-qc, astro-ph.HE

Submitted: 2026-06-29

Comments: 16 pages, 5 figures

Code: https://github.com/nanograv/enterprise

License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

Terminology

• pulsar timing arrays — 4× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Accuracy — 3× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Grant — 2× in this paper
• Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo — 1× in this paper

Sources

• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Observations and Timing of 68 Millisecond Pulsars
• The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array I. The dataset and timing analysis
• The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Third Data Release
• Searching for the nano-Hertz stochastic gravitational wave background with the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array Data Release I
• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-Wave Background
• The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array III. Search for gravitational wave signals
• Search for an isotropic gravitational-wave background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
• Hyper-efficient model-independent Bayesian method for the analysis of pulsar timing data
• On measuring the gravitational-wave background using Pulsar Timing Arrays
• Tempo2, a new pulsar timing package. II: The timing model and precision estimates

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