A pulsar-based timescale from the International Pulsar Timing Array
2019
We have constructed a new timescale, TT(IPTA16), based on observations of radio
pulsarspresented in the first data release from the
International Pulsar Timing Array(IPTA). We used two analysis techniques with independent estimates of the noise models for the
pulsarobservations and different algorithms for obtaining the
pulsartimescale. The two analyses agree within the estimated uncertainties and both agree with TT(BIPM17), a post-corrected timescale produced by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). We show that both methods could detect significant errors in TT(BIPM17) if they were present. We estimate the stability of the
atomic clocksfrom which TT(BIPM17) is derived using observations of four
rubidium
fountainclocks at the US Naval Observatory. Comparing the power spectrum of TT(IPTA16) with that of these
fountainclocks suggests that
pulsar-based timescales are unlikely to contribute to the stability of the best timescales over the next decade, but they will remain a valuable independent check on atomic timescales. We also find that the stability of the
pulsar-based timescale is likely to be limited by our knowledge of solar-system dynamics, and that errors in TT(BIPM17) will not be a limiting factor for the primary goal of the IPTA, which is to search for the signatures of nano-
Hertzgravitational waves.
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