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arXiv · 2508.16534

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: 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·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·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
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Abstract

We present the first targeted searches for continuous gravitational waves (CWs) from 114 active galactic nuclei (AGN) that may host supermassive black hole binaries, using the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. 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 $\sim 2$ (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 $0.73 \pm 0.32$. 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 roadmap for future multimessenger CW detections.

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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, 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, 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. 2026-01-13. The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Targeted Searches for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213%2Fae3719

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