BibTex format
@article{Chen:2026:10.1038/s41550-026-02782-0,
author = {Chen, Y and Daniel, M and DOrazio, DJ and Fan, X and Mitridate, A and Sagunski, L and Xue, X and Young, O and Wright, D and Witt, CA and Wahl, HM and Vigeland, SJ and van, Haasteren R and Vallisneri, M and Ünal, C and Turner, JE and Taylor, SR and Taylor, J and Swiggum, JK and Susobhanan, A and Stovall, K and Stinebring, DR and Stairs, IH and Sosa, Fiscella SV and Siwek, MS and Simon, J and Siemens, X and Shapiro-Albert, BJ and Schmitz, K and Schmiedekamp, C and Schmiedekamp, A and Sardesai, SC and Saffer, A and Runnoe, JC and Romano, JD and Ray, PS and Ransom, SM and Radovan, HA and Pol, NS and Petrov, P and Perera, BBP and Pennucci, TT and Olum, KD and Ocker, SK and Nice, DJ and Ng, C and Mingarelli, CMF and Meyers, PM and Meyers, BW and McMann, N and McLaughlin, MA and McKee, JW and McEwen, A and Madison, DR and Ma, CP and Lynch, RS and Luo, J and Lorimer, DR and Liu, T and Lewandowska, N and Lazio, TJW and Larsen, B and Lamb, WG and Lam, MT and Laal, N and Key, JS and Kerr, M and K},
doi = {10.1038/s41550-026-02782-0},
journal = {Nature Astronomy},
pages = {554--563},
title = {Inference on inner galaxy structure via gravitational waves from supermassive binaries},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02782-0},
volume = {10},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - The detection of a stochastic gravitational wave background by pulsar-timing arrays indicates the presence of a population of supermassive black hole binaries. Although the observed spectrum generally matches predictions for orbital evolution driven by gravitational-wave emission in circular orbits, there is a preference for a spectral turnover at the lowest observed frequencies, which may point to substantial hardening during a transition from early environmental influences to later stages dominated by emission. In the vicinity of these binaries, the ejection of stars or dark matter particles through gravitational three-body slingshots efficiently extracts orbital energy, leading to a low-frequency turnover in the spectrum. Here we model how the gravitational-wave spectrum depends on the initial inner galactic profile before scouring by binary ejections while accounting for a range of initial binary eccentricities. By analysing the NANOGrav 15-year data, we find that a parsec-scale galactic-centre density of around 10<sup>6</sup> M<inf></inf> pc<sup>−</sup><sup>3</sup> is favoured across most of the parameter space, thus shedding light on the environmental effects that shape black hole evolution and the combined matter density near galaxy centres.
AU - Chen,Y
AU - Daniel,M
AU - DOrazio,DJ
AU - Fan,X
AU - Mitridate,A
AU - Sagunski,L
AU - Xue,X
AU - Young,O
AU - Wright,D
AU - Witt,CA
AU - Wahl,HM
AU - Vigeland,SJ
AU - van,Haasteren R
AU - Vallisneri,M
AU - Ünal,C
AU - Turner,JE
AU - Taylor,SR
AU - Taylor,J
AU - Swiggum,JK
AU - Susobhanan,A
AU - Stovall,K
AU - Stinebring,DR
AU - Stairs,IH
AU - Sosa,Fiscella SV
AU - Siwek,MS
AU - Simon,J
AU - Siemens,X
AU - Shapiro-Albert,BJ
AU - Schmitz,K
AU - Schmiedekamp,C
AU - Schmiedekamp,A
AU - Sardesai,SC
AU - Saffer,A
AU - Runnoe,JC
AU - Romano,JD
AU - Ray,PS
AU - Ransom,SM
AU - Radovan,HA
AU - Pol,NS
AU - Petrov,P
AU - Perera,BBP
AU - Pennucci,TT
AU - Olum,KD
AU - Ocker,SK
AU - Nice,DJ
AU - Ng,C
AU - Mingarelli,CMF
AU - Meyers,PM
AU - Meyers,BW
AU - McMann,N
AU - McLaughlin,MA
AU - McKee,JW
AU - McEwen,A
AU - Madison,DR
AU - Ma,CP
AU - Lynch,RS
AU - Luo,J
AU - Lorimer,DR
AU - Liu,T
AU - Lewandowska,N
AU - Lazio,TJW
AU - Larsen,B
AU - Lamb,WG
AU - Lam,MT
AU - Laal,N
AU - Key,JS
AU - Kerr,M
AU - Kelley,LZ
AU - Kaplan,DL
AU - Jones,ML
AU - Johnson,AD
AU - Jennings,RJ
AU - Hazboun,JS
AU - Gültekin,K
AU - Good,DC
AU - Glaser,J
AU - Gersbach,KA
AU - Gentile,PA
AU - Garver-Daniels,N
AU - Gardiner,EC
AU - Freedman,GE
AU - Fonseca,E
AU - Fiore,W
AU - Ferrara,EC
AU - Dolch,T
AU - Dey,L
AU - Deng,H
AU - Demorest,PB
AU - DeCesar,ME
AU - Crowter,K
AU - Cromartie,HT
AU - Crawford,F
AU - Cornish,NJ
AU - Cordes,JM
AU - Cohen,T
AU - Chatterjee,S
AU - Charisi,M
AU - Casey-Clyde,JA
AU - Burnette,R
AU - Burke-Spolaor,S
DO - 10.1038/s41550-026-02782-0
EP - 563
PY - 2026///
SP - 554
TI - Inference on inner galaxy structure via gravitational waves from supermassive binaries
T2 - Nature Astronomy
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02782-0
VL - 10
ER -