The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars

Understand

We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves.

• The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz.
• Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, with six high--timing-precision pulsars observed weekly, and all were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays.
• We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs.