The NANOGrav Experiment - Current Results and Future Directions

Explore a 55-minute physics colloquium from Yale University's Chiara Mingarelli that delves into the NANOGrav experiment and its groundbreaking gravitational wave research. Learn about galaxy mergers, supermassive black holes, and how their coalescence generates gravitational radiation in the nanohertz to microhertz range. Discover how an array of precisely timed pulsars can function as a galactic-scale gravitational wave detector, and examine recent evidence supporting the detection of a gravitational wave background. Gain insights into ongoing research efforts to enhance pulsar timing array capabilities and understand the astrophysical phenomena driving supermassive black hole mergers.