The NANOGrav 15 yr Dataset: Targeted Searches for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Nikita Agarwal; Gabriella Agazie; Akash Anumarlapudi; Anne M. Archibald; Zaven Arzoumanian; Jeremy G. Baier; Paul T. Baker; Bence Becsy; Laura Blecha; Adam Brazier; Paul R. Brook; Sarah Burke-Spolaor; Rand Burnette; Robin Case; J. Andrew Casey-Clyde; Yu-Ting Chang; Maria Charisi; Shami Chatterjee; Tyler Cohen; Paolo Coppi; James M. Cordes; Neil J. Cornish; Fronefield Crawford; H. Thankful Cromartie; Kathryn Crowter; Megan E. Decesar; Paul B. Demorest; Heling Deng; Lankeswar Dey; Timothy Dolch; Daniel J. D'orazio; Ellis Eisenberg; Elizabeth C. Ferrara; Graham Doskoch; William Fiore; Emmanuel Fonseca; Gabriel E. Freedman; Emiko C. Gardiner; Nate Garver-Daniels; Peter A. Gentile; Kyle A. Gersbach; Joseph Glaser; Matthew J. Graham; Deborah C. Good; Kayhan Gultekin; C. J. Harris; Jeffrey S. Hazboun; Forrest Hutchison; Ross J. Jennings; Aaron D. Johnson; Megan L. Jones; David L. Kaplan; Luke Zoltan Kelley; Matthew Kerr; Joey S. Key; Nima Laal; Michael T. Lam; William G. Lamb; Bjorn Larsen; T. Joseph W. Lazio; Natalia Lewandowska; Tingting Liu; Duncan R. Lorimer; Jing Luo; Ryan S. Lynch; Chung-Pei Ma; Dustin R. Madison; Cayenne Matt; Alexander Mcewen; James W. Mckee; Maura A. Mclaughlin; Natasha Mcmann; Bradley W. Meyers; Patrick M. Meyers; Chiara M. F. Mingarelli; Andrea Mitridate; Priyamvada Natarajan; Cherry Ng; David J. Nice; Shania Nichols; Stella Koch Ocker; Ken D. Olum; Timothy T. Pennucci; Benetge B. P. Perera; Polina Petrov; Nihan S. Pol; Henri A. Radovan; Scott M. Ransom; Paul S. Ray; Joseph D. Romano; Jessie C. Runnoe; Alexander Saffer; Shashwat C. Sardesai; Ann Schmiedekamp; Carl Schmiedekamp; Kai Schmitz; Federico Semenzato; Brent J. Shapiro-Albert; Rohan Shivakumar; Xavier Siemens; Joseph Simon; Sophia V. Sosa Fiscella; Ingrid H. Stairs; Daniel R. Stinebring; Kevin Stovall; Abhimanyu Susobhanan; Joseph K. Swiggum; Jacob A. Taylor; Stephen R. Taylor; Mercedes S. Thompson; Jacob E. Turner; Michele Vallisneri; Rutger Van Haasteren; Sarah J. Vigeland; Haley M. Wahl; London Willson; Kevin P. Wilson; Caitlin A. Witt; David Wright; Olivia Young; Qinyuan Zheng; NANOGrav Collaboration

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae3719

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The NANOGrav 15 yr Dataset: Targeted Searches for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Journal article

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The NANOGrav 15 yr Dataset: Targeted Searches for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Nikita Agarwal, Gabriella Agazie, Akash Anumarlapudi, Anne M. Archibald, Zaven Arzoumanian, Jeremy G. Baier, Paul T. Baker, Bence Becsy, Laura Blecha, Adam Brazier, …

Astrophysical journal. Letters, Vol.998(1), p.L11

10/02/2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3719

Abstract

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Science & Technology

Physical Sciences

We present the first targeted searches for continuous gravitational waves (CWs) from 114 active galactic nuclei that may host supermassive black hole binaries, using the NANOGrav 15 yr dataset. By incorporating electromagnetic priors on sky location, distance, redshift, and CW frequency, our strain and chirp-mass upper limits are typically improved by a factor of similar to 2 (median 2.2) relative to all-sky limits at the same frequency. Bayesian comparisons against a model including only a Hellings-Downs-correlated background disfavors a CW signal for all targets, with a mean Bayes factor of 0.73 +/- 0.32. Two targets have Bayes factors slightly above unity, but coherence tests, random-targeting experiments, and a conservative accounting of the 114-target trials factor all indicate that they are consistent with noise. We use these two candidates as worked examples to illustrate an end-to-end targeted CW search analysis and a suite of follow-up tests that future promising candidates would need to pass. We find that the electromagnetic interpretations of both candidates are ambiguous, and we update the constraints on a putative binary in 3C 66B, ruling out part of its previously allowed parameter space. Ultimately, our results demonstrate the current sensitivity of targeted pulsar timing array searches for CWs and define a road map for future multimessenger CW detections.

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Title: The NANOGrav 15 yr Dataset: Targeted Searches for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries
Creators - without role: Nikita Agarwal - West Virginia University
Gabriella Agazie - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Akash Anumarlapudi - Univ North Carolina, Dept Phys & Astron, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA
Anne M. Archibald - Newcastle University
Zaven Arzoumanian - NASA, Xray Astrophys Lab, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
Jeremy G. Baier - Oregon State University
Paul T. Baker - Widener University
Bence Becsy - University of Birmingham
Laura Blecha - University of Florida
Adam Brazier - Cornell University
Paul R. Brook - University of Birmingham
Sarah Burke-Spolaor - West Virginia University
Rand Burnette - Oregon State University
Robin Case - Oregon State University
J. Andrew Casey-Clyde - University of Connecticut
Yu-Ting Chang - University of New Haven
Maria Charisi - Washington State University
Shami Chatterjee - Cornell University
Tyler Cohen - New Mexico Inst Min & Technol, Dept Phys, 801 Leroy Pl, Socorro, NM 87801 USA
Paolo Coppi - University of New Haven
James M. Cordes - Cornell University
Neil J. Cornish - Montana State University
Fronefield Crawford - Franklin & Marshall Coll, Dept Phys & Astron, POB 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604 USA
H. Thankful Cromartie - Natl Acad Sci, Natl Res Council Res Associate, Washington, DC 20001 USA
Kathryn Crowter - University of British Columbia
Megan E. Decesar - George Mason University
Paul B. Demorest - Natl Radio Astron Observ, 1003 Lopezville Rd, Socorro, NM 87801 USA
Heling Deng - Columbia University
Lankeswar Dey - West Virginia University
Timothy Dolch - Hillsdale Coll, Dept Biol, 33 E Coll St, Hillsdale, MI 49242 USA
Daniel J. D'orazio - Space Telescope Sci Inst, 3700 San Martin Dr, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
Ellis Eisenberg - University of New Haven
Elizabeth C. Ferrara - Univ Maryland, Dept Astron, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
Graham Doskoch - West Virginia University
William Fiore - University of British Columbia
Emmanuel Fonseca - West Virginia University
Gabriel E. Freedman - NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
Emiko C. Gardiner - Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Astron, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
Nate Garver-Daniels - West Virginia University
Peter A. Gentile - West Virginia University
Kyle A. Gersbach - Vanderbilt University
Joseph Glaser - West Virginia University
Matthew J. Graham - California Institute of Technology
Deborah C. Good - University of Montana
Kayhan Gultekin - University of Michigan
C. J. Harris - University of Michigan
Jeffrey S. Hazboun - Oregon State University
Forrest Hutchison - University of New Haven
Ross J. Jennings - West Virginia University
Aaron D. Johnson - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Megan L. Jones - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
David L. Kaplan - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Luke Zoltan Kelley - NANOGrav Collaborat, Astrophys Working Grp, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
Matthew Kerr - Naval Res Lab, Space Sci Div, Washington, DC 20375 USA
Joey S. Key - University of Washington Bothell
Nima Laal - Vanderbilt University
Michael T. Lam - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
William G. Lamb - Vanderbilt University
Bjorn Larsen - University of New Haven
T. Joseph W. Lazio - California Institute of Technology
Natalia Lewandowska - SUNY Coll Oswego, Dept Phys & Astron, Oswego, NY 13126 USA
Tingting Liu - Georgia State University
Duncan R. Lorimer - West Virginia University
Jing Luo - University of Toronto
Ryan S. Lynch - Green Bank Observ, POB 2, Green Bank, WV 24944 USA
Chung-Pei Ma - Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Astron, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
Dustin R. Madison - Occidental Coll, Dept Phys, 1600 Campus Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90041 USA
Cayenne Matt - University of Michigan
Alexander Mcewen - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
James W. Mckee - Union Coll, Dept Phys & Astron, Schenectady, NY 12308 USA
Maura A. Mclaughlin - West Virginia University
Natasha Mcmann - Vanderbilt University
Bradley W. Meyers - Curtin University
Patrick M. Meyers - California Institute of Technology
Chiara M. F. Mingarelli - University of New Haven
Andrea Mitridate - Deutsch Elektronen Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
Priyamvada Natarajan - University of New Haven
Cherry Ng - University of Toronto
David J. Nice - Lafayette Coll, Dept Phys, Easton, PA 18042 USA
Shania Nichols - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Stella Koch Ocker - California Institute of Technology
Ken D. Olum - Tufts University
Timothy T. Pennucci - Eötvös Loránd University
Benetge B. P. Perera - Laboratoire d’hydrologie, climat et changements climatiques
Polina Petrov - Vanderbilt University
Nihan S. Pol - Texas Tech Univ, Dept Phys, Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA
Henri A. Radovan - Univ Puerto R, Phys Dept, Mayaguez, PR 00681 USA
Scott M. Ransom - Natl Radio Astron Observ, 520 Edgemont Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
Paul S. Ray - Naval Res Lab, Space Sci Div, Washington, DC 20375 USA
Joseph D. Romano - Texas Tech Univ, Dept Phys, Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA
Jessie C. Runnoe - Vanderbilt University
Alexander Saffer - Natl Radio Astron Observ, 520 Edgemont Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
Shashwat C. Sardesai - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Ann Schmiedekamp - Penn State Abington
Carl Schmiedekamp - Penn State Abington
Kai Schmitz - University of Münster
Federico Semenzato - University of Padua
Brent J. Shapiro-Albert - West Virginia University
Rohan Shivakumar - University of New Haven
Xavier Siemens - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Joseph Simon - Oregon State University
Sophia V. Sosa Fiscella - Rochester Institute of Technology
Ingrid H. Stairs - University of British Columbia
Daniel R. Stinebring - Oberlin Coll, Dept Phys & Astron, Oberlin, OH 44074 USA
Kevin Stovall - Natl Radio Astron Observ, 1003 Lopezville Rd, Socorro, NM 87801 USA
Abhimanyu Susobhanan - Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
Joseph K. Swiggum - Lafayette Coll, Dept Phys, Easton, PA 18042 USA
Jacob A. Taylor - Oregon State University
Stephen R. Taylor - Vanderbilt University
Mercedes S. Thompson - University of British Columbia
Jacob E. Turner - Green Bank Observ, POB 2, Green Bank, WV 24944 USA
Michele Vallisneri - California Institute of Technology
Rutger Van Haasteren - Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
Sarah J. Vigeland - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Haley M. Wahl - West Virginia University
London Willson - Univ Connecticut, Dept Phys, 196 Auditorium Rd,U-3046, Storrs, CT 06269 USA
Kevin P. Wilson - West Virginia University
Caitlin A. Witt - Wake Forest University
David Wright - Oregon State University
Olivia Young - Rochester Institute of Technology
Qinyuan Zheng - University of New Haven
NANOGrav Collaboration
Publication Details: Astrophysical journal. Letters, Vol.998(1), p.L11
Publisher: IOP Publishing Ltd
Number of pages: 28
Grant note: 1430284 / National Science Foundation (NSF) 80NSSC24K0440 / NASA divided by Science Mission Directorate (SMD)
Identifiers: 991019737181207081
Academic Unit: Hillsdale College; Physics; Natural Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article