Unveiling the existence of nontensorial gravitational-wave polarizations from individual supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays

TL;DR

This paper proposes a data-analysis method using null streams to detect nontensorial gravitational-wave polarizations from individual supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays, enhancing tests of gravity theories.

Contribution

It introduces a novel null stream approach combined with frequentist and Bayesian methods to identify nontensorial GW polarizations in pulsar timing array data.

Findings

Thresholds for nontensorial polarization detection established

Method distinguishes between dipole and quadrupole radiation dominance

Provides a framework for testing alternative gravity theories

Abstract

With the strong evidence for a gravitational wave (GW) background in the nanohertz frequency band from pulsar timing arrays, the detection of continuous GWs from individual supermassive black hole binaries is already at the dawn. Utilizing continuous GWs to test theories of gravity, especially to test the polarizations of GWs is becoming more and more realistic. In this theoretical study, assuming a detection of signals from individual supermassive binary black holes, we use the null stream to estimate the capability of identifying the nontensorial polarizations of GWs. We consider cases for the nontensorial polarizations where the dipole radiation and quadrupole radiation dominate separately. With a frequentist method, we estimate the threshold of the nontensor-to-tensor relative amplitude above which extra polarizations can be detected. We also conduct Bayesian analysis to estimate parameters with the null stream data. Our treatment provides a data-analysis methodology using the null stream to probe the nontensorial GW polarizations with pulsar timing arrays.