Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 23 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series |
| Volume | 273 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Jul 2024 |
Abstract
Pulsar timing array (PTA) projects have found evidence of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWB) using data from an ensemble of pulsars. In the literature, minimal assumptions are made about the signal and noise processes that affect data from these pulsars, such as pulsar spin noise. These assumptions are encoded as uninformative priors in Bayesian searches, though frequentist approaches make similar assumptions. Uninformative priors are not suitable for (noise) properties of pulsars in an ensemble, and they bias estimates of model parameters such as gravitational-wave signal parameters. Both frequentist and Bayesian searches are affected. In this article, more appropriate priors are proposed in the language of hierarchical Bayesian modeling, where the properties of the ensemble of pulsars are jointly described with the properties of the individual components of the ensemble. Results by PTA projects should be reevaluated using hierarchical models.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Space and Planetary Science
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In: Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Vol. 273, No. 2, 23, 24.07.2024.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Pulsar Timing Arrays Require Hierarchical Models
AU - van Haasteren, Rutger
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2024/7/24
Y1 - 2024/7/24
N2 - Pulsar timing array (PTA) projects have found evidence of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWB) using data from an ensemble of pulsars. In the literature, minimal assumptions are made about the signal and noise processes that affect data from these pulsars, such as pulsar spin noise. These assumptions are encoded as uninformative priors in Bayesian searches, though frequentist approaches make similar assumptions. Uninformative priors are not suitable for (noise) properties of pulsars in an ensemble, and they bias estimates of model parameters such as gravitational-wave signal parameters. Both frequentist and Bayesian searches are affected. In this article, more appropriate priors are proposed in the language of hierarchical Bayesian modeling, where the properties of the ensemble of pulsars are jointly described with the properties of the individual components of the ensemble. Results by PTA projects should be reevaluated using hierarchical models.
AB - Pulsar timing array (PTA) projects have found evidence of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWB) using data from an ensemble of pulsars. In the literature, minimal assumptions are made about the signal and noise processes that affect data from these pulsars, such as pulsar spin noise. These assumptions are encoded as uninformative priors in Bayesian searches, though frequentist approaches make similar assumptions. Uninformative priors are not suitable for (noise) properties of pulsars in an ensemble, and they bias estimates of model parameters such as gravitational-wave signal parameters. Both frequentist and Bayesian searches are affected. In this article, more appropriate priors are proposed in the language of hierarchical Bayesian modeling, where the properties of the ensemble of pulsars are jointly described with the properties of the individual components of the ensemble. Results by PTA projects should be reevaluated using hierarchical models.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199489830&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.48550/arXiv.2406.05081
DO - 10.48550/arXiv.2406.05081
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85199489830
VL - 273
JO - Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
JF - Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
SN - 0067-0049
IS - 2
M1 - 23
ER -