APEC Seminar (Astronomy - Particle Physics - Experimental Physics - Cosmology)

Speaker: Kai Schmitz (U. Munster)
Title: News from the Pulsar Timing Array Frontier
Date (JST): Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 13:30 - 15:00
Place: Lecture Hall
Abstract: I will review the 2023 pulsar timing array (PTA) evidence for a stochastic gravitational-wave background at nanohertz frequencies and discuss how PTA observations allow us to search for new particle and gravitational physics, including: (1) physics beyond the Standard Model in the early Universe, (2) dark matter in our galaxy and in the vicinity of supermassive black-hole binaries, and (3) scenarios of modified gravity. Along the way, I will present new gravitational-wave templates for certain signal hypotheses and recommend best practices for the analysis of future PTA data sets.