ISGC 260603 talk by Prof. Joris Verbiest - Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida

Title: Gravitational Wave Detection with Pulsars: What's Next? Abstract: For well over two decades, radio telescopes around the world have been used in efforts to detect tiny imprints of nanohertz gravitational waves on the arrival times of emission from radio pulsars. These efforts have begun to bear fruit, with the publication of a marginal signal back in 2023. At this very time, a global consortium of pulsar astronomers is finalizing a joint analysis — the most sensitive of its kind to date — of pulsar-timing data to attempt to achieve statistical significance on what could very well be the first direct detection of nanohertz gravitational waves. After a review of the fundamental methods used in this endeavor, I will provide a brief overview of potential gravitational waves sources in the PTA band and clarify why both optimism and caution are warranted, highlighting both the challenges and corrupting signals in PTA data and the methods used to mitigate said effects. Speaker: Joris Verbiest - Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, America Date and Time: June 3rd, 2026 - 12pm GMT