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Xue X, Bian L, Shu J, Yuan Q, Zhu X, Bhat NDR, Dai S, Feng Y, Goncharov B, Hobbs G, Howard E, Manchester RN, Russell CJ, Reardon DJ, Shannon RM, Spiewak R, Thyagarajan N, Wang J. Constraining Cosmological Phase Transitions with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:251303. [PMID: 35029430 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.251303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A cosmological first-order phase transition is expected to produce a stochastic gravitational wave background. If the phase transition temperature is on the MeV scale, the power spectrum of the induced stochastic gravitational waves peaks around nanohertz frequencies, and can thus be probed with high-precision pulsar timing observations. We search for such a stochastic gravitational wave background with the latest data set of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. We find no evidence for a Hellings-Downs spatial correlation as expected for a stochastic gravitational wave background. Therefore, we present constraints on first-order phase transition model parameters. Our analysis shows that pulsar timing is particularly sensitive to the low-temperature (T∼1-100 MeV) phase transition with a duration (β/H_{*})^{-1}∼10^{-2}-10^{-1} and therefore can be used to constrain the dark and QCD phase transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Xue
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- II. Institute of Theoretical Physics, Universität Hamburg, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ligong Bian
- Department of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory for Strongly Coupled Physics, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Jing Shu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- International Center for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific, Beijing/Hanzhou, China
| | - Qiang Yuan
- Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210023, China
- School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xingjiang Zhu
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
- Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai 519087, China
| | - N D Ramesh Bhat
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Shi Dai
- Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia
| | - Yi Feng
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Boris Goncharov
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
| | - George Hobbs
- CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
| | - Eric Howard
- CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, P.O. Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
- Macquarie University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | | | - Christopher J Russell
- CSIRO Scientific Computing, Australian Technology Park, Locked Bag 9013, Alexandria, NSW 1435, Australia
| | - Daniel J Reardon
- OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
| | - Ryan M Shannon
- OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
| | - Renée Spiewak
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jingbo Wang
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 150 Science 1-Street, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
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7
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Arzoumanian Z, Baker PT, Blumer H, Bécsy B, Brazier A, Brook PR, Burke-Spolaor S, Charisi M, Chatterjee S, Chen S, Cordes JM, Cornish NJ, Crawford F, Cromartie HT, DeCesar ME, Demorest PB, Dolch T, Ellis JA, Ferrara EC, Fiore W, Fonseca E, Garver-Daniels N, Gentile PA, Good DC, Hazboun JS, Holgado AM, Islo K, Jennings RJ, Jones ML, Kaiser AR, Kaplan DL, Kelley LZ, Key JS, Laal N, Lam MT, Lazio TJW, Lee VSH, Lorimer DR, Luo J, Lynch RS, Madison DR, McLaughlin MA, Mingarelli CMF, Mitridate A, Ng C, Nice DJ, Pennucci TT, Pol NS, Ransom SM, Ray PS, Shapiro-Albert BJ, Siemens X, Simon J, Spiewak R, Stairs IH, Stinebring DR, Stovall K, Sun JP, Swiggum JK, Taylor SR, Turner JE, Vallisneri M, Vigeland SJ, Witt CA, Zurek KM. Searching for Gravitational Waves from Cosmological Phase Transitions with the NANOGrav 12.5-Year Dataset. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:251302. [PMID: 35029450 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.251302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We search for a first-order phase transition gravitational wave signal in 45 pulsars from the NANOGrav 12.5-year dataset. We find that the data can be modeled in terms of a strong first order phase transition taking place at temperatures below the electroweak scale. However, we do not observe any strong preference for a phase-transition interpretation of the signal over the standard astrophysical interpretation in terms of supermassive black hole mergers; but we expect to gain additional discriminating power with future datasets, improving the signal to noise ratio and extending the sensitivity window to lower frequencies. An interesting open question is how well gravitational wave observatories could separate such signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaven Arzoumanian
- X-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - Paul T Baker
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Widener University, One University Place, Chester, Pennsylvania 19013, USA
| | - Harsha Blumer
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Bence Bécsy
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Adam Brazier
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
- Cornell Center for Advanced Computing, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Paul R Brook
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Sarah Burke-Spolaor
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
- CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria Charisi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA
| | - Shami Chatterjee
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Siyuan Chen
- Station de Radioastronomie de Nancay, Observatoire de Paris, Universite PSL, CNRS, Universite d'Orleans, 18330 Nancay, France
- FEMTO-ST Institut de recherche, Department of Time and Frequency, UBFC and CNRS, ENSMM, 25030 Besancon, France
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environment et de l'Espace, LPC2E UMR7328, Universite d'Orleans, CNRS, 45071 Orleans, France
| | - James M Cordes
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Neil J Cornish
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Fronefield Crawford
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Franklin & Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604, USA
| | - H Thankful Cromartie
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Megan E DeCesar
- Department of Physics, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042, USA
- George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA
| | - Paul B Demorest
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 1003 Lopezville Road, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
| | - Timothy Dolch
- Department of Physics, Hillsdale College, 33 E. College Street, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242, USA
- Eureka Scientific, Inc. 2452 Delmer Street, Suite 100, Oakland, California 94602-3017
| | - Justin A Ellis
- Infinia ML, 202 Rigsbee Avenue, Durham, North Carolina 27701, USA
| | - Elizabeth C Ferrara
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - William Fiore
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Emmanuel Fonseca
- Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8, Canada
| | - Nathan Garver-Daniels
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Peter A Gentile
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Deborah C Good
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Jeffrey S Hazboun
- University of Washington Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, USA
| | - A Miguel Holgado
- Department of Astronomy and National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Kristina Islo
- Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Ross J Jennings
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Megan L Jones
- Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Andrew R Kaiser
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - David L Kaplan
- Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Luke Zoltan Kelley
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
| | - Joey Shapiro Key
- University of Washington Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, Washington 98011, USA
| | - Nima Laal
- Department of Physics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Michael T Lam
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623, USA
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623, USA
| | - T Joseph W Lazio
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Vincent S H Lee
- Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Duncan R Lorimer
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Jing Luo
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4, Canada
| | - Ryan S Lynch
- Green Bank Observatory, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, West Virginia 24944, USA
| | - Dustin R Madison
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Maura A McLaughlin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Chiara M F Mingarelli
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10010, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, 196 Auditorium Road, U-3046, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3046, USA
| | - Andrea Mitridate
- Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Cherry Ng
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 Saint George street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4, Canada
| | - David J Nice
- Department of Physics, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042, USA
| | - Timothy T Pennucci
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA
- Institute of Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. s. 1/A, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nihan S Pol
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA
| | - Scott M Ransom
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA
| | - Paul S Ray
- Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375-5352, USA
| | - Brent J Shapiro-Albert
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Xavier Siemens
- Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
- Department of Physics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Joseph Simon
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Renée Spiewak
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Ingrid H Stairs
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Daniel R Stinebring
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio 44074, USA
| | - Kevin Stovall
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 1003 Lopezville Road, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
| | - Jerry P Sun
- Department of Physics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Joseph K Swiggum
- Department of Physics, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042, USA
| | - Stephen R Taylor
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA
| | - Jacob E Turner
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Michele Vallisneri
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Sarah J Vigeland
- Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Caitlin A Witt
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6315, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA
- Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, West Virginia University, Chestnut Ridge Research Building, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
| | - Kathryn M Zurek
- Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
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