The nanograv nine-year data set: Observations, arrival time measurements, and analysis of 37 millisecond pulsars

Arzoumanian, Z. and Brazier, A. and Burke-Spolaor, S. and Chamberlin, S. and Chatterjee, S. and Christy, B. and Cordes, J. M. and Cornish, N. and Crowter, K. and Demorest, P. B. and Dolch, T. and Ellis, J. A. and Ferdman, R. D. and Fonseca, E. and Garver-Daniels, N. and Gonzalez, M. E. and Jenet, F. A. and Jones, G. and Jones, M. L. and Kaspi, V. M. and Koop, M. and Lam, M. T. and Lazio, T. J. W. and Levin, L. and Lommen, A. N. and Lorimer, D. R. and Luo, J. and Lynch, R. S. and Madison, D. and McLaughlin, M. A. and Pennucci, Timothy Thomas (2015) The nanograv nine-year data set: Observations, arrival time measurements, and analysis of 37 millisecond pulsars. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 813 (1). ISSN 1538-4357

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Abstract

We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars moni- tored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of ar- rival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. In conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evi- dence for excess low-frequency, or “red,” timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.

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