Pulsar timing arrays and the challenge of massive black hole binary astrophysics

Understand

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are designed to detect gravitational waves (GWs) at nHz frequencies.

• The expected dominant signal is given by the superposition of all waves emitted by the cosmological population of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries.
• Such superposition creates an incoherent stochastic background, on top of which particularly bright or nearby sources might be individually resolved.
• In this contribution I describe the properties of the expected GW signal, highlighting its dependence on the overall binary population, the relation between SMBHs and their hosts, and their coupling with the stellar and gaseous environment.