Speaker
Description
We analyzed supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidate systems whose parameters were constrained by electromagnetic surveys. We extracted data from the following catalogs: the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS), the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), Pan-STARRS, and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). Based on these data, we estimated the characteristic strain and frequency of the gravitational waves (GWs) emitted by the investigated sources. We plotted the results and compared them with the sensitivity of current pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) based on surveys by the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) and the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). We found that it is currently not possible to detect GWs from these SMBHB candidates using existing techniques. However, we examined the parameters on which the sensitivity curve depends, and how future sensitivity could be improved with the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA). We conclude that besides the 3C 66B and OJ 287 systems, there could be GWs from other SMBHB candidates which may become observable with advanced PTAs.