Search for the gravitational wave memory effect with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array

TL;DR

This paper presents an initial algorithm to detect gravitational wave memory signals using pulsar timing arrays, applied to Parkes data, but finds no significant signals.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new algorithm for detecting gravitational wave memory effects in pulsar timing data.

Findings

No significant gravitational wave memory signals detected

Algorithm successfully applied to Parkes data set

Provides a foundation for future searches

Abstract

Gravitational wave bursts produced by supermassive binary black hole mergers will leave a persistent imprint on the space-time metric. Such gravitational wave memory signals are detectable by pulsar timing arrays as a glitch event that would seem to occur simultaneously for all pulsars. In this paper, we describe an initial algorithm which can be used to search for gravitational wave memory signals. We apply this algorithm to the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array data set. No significant gravitational wave memory signal is founded in the data set.