Status Update of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array

TL;DR

This paper reviews the progress of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project, highlighting its potential to detect gravitational waves from supermassive black-hole mergers within a decade, or challenge existing models.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the project's requirements, recent advancements, and demonstrates the readiness of pulsar timing for gravitational wave detection.

Findings

Pulsar timing properties are suitable for gravitational wave detection.

Technological progress is on track for a successful detection within a decade.

The project could also rule out current gravitational wave background predictions.

Abstract

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project aims to make a direct detection of a gravitational-wave background through timing of millisecond pulsars. In this article, the main requirements for that endeavour are described and recent and ongoing progress is outlined. We demonstrate that the timing properties of millisecond pulsars are adequate and that technological progress is timely to expect a successful detection of gravitational waves within a decade, or alternatively to rule out all current predictions for gravitational wave backgrounds formed by supermassive black-hole mergers.