2026ApJ...998L..11A

Query : 2026ApJ...998L..11A

2026ApJ...998L..11A - Astrophys. J., 998, L11 (2026/February-2)

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

AGARWAL N., AGAZIE G., ANUMARLAPUDI A., ARCHIBALD A.M., ARZOUMANIAN Z., BAIER J.G., BAKER P.T., BECSY B., BLECHA L., BRAZIER A., BROOK P.R., BURKE-SPOLAOR S., BURNETTE R., CASE R., CASEY-CLYDE J.A., CHANG Y.-T., CHARISI M., CHATTERJEE S., COHEN T., COPPI P., CORDES J.M., CORNISH N.J., CRAWFORD F., CROMARTIE H.T., CROWTER K., DECESAR M.E., DEMOREST P.B., DENG H., DEY L., DOLCH T., D'ORAZIO D.J., EISENBERG E., FERRARA E.C., DOSKOCH G., FIORE W., FONSECA E., FREEDMAN G.E., GARDINER E.C., GARVER-DANIELS N., GENTILE P.A., GERSBACH K.A., GLASER J., GRAHAM M.J., GOOD D.C., GULTEKIN K., HARRIS C.J., HAZBOUN J.S., HUTCHISON F., JENNINGS R.J., JOHNSON A.D., JONES M.L., KAPLAN D.L., KELLEY L.Z., KERR M., KEY J.S., LAAL N., LAM M.T., LAMB W.G., LARSEN B., LAZIO T.J.W., LEWANDOWSKA N., LIU T., LORIMER D.R., LUO J., LYNCH R.S., MA C.-P., MADISON D.R., MATT C., McEWEN A., McKEE J.W., McLAUGHLIN M.A., McMANN N., MEYERS B.W., MEYERS P.M., MINGARELLI C.M.F., MITRIDATE A., NATARAJAN P., NG C., NICE D.J., NICHOLS S., OCKER S.K., OLUM K.D., PENNUCCI T.T., PERERA B.B.P., PETROV P., POL N.S., RADOVAN H.A., RANSOM S.M., RAY P.S., ROMANO J.D., RUNNOE J.C., SAFFER A., SARDESAI S.C., SCHMIEDEKAMP A., SCHMIEDEKAMP C., SCHMITZ K., SEMENZATO F., SHAPIRO-ALBERT B.J., SHIVAKUMAR R., SIEMENS X., SIMON J., SOSA FISCELLA S.V., STAIRS I.H., STINEBRING D.R., STOVALL K., SUSOBHANAN A., SWIGGUM J.K., TAYLOR J.A., TAYLOR S.R., THOMPSON M.S., TURNER J.E., VALLISNERI M., VAN HAASTEREN R., VIGELAND S.J., WAHL H.M., WILLSON L., WILSON K.P., WITT C.A., WRIGHT D., YOUNG O., ZHENG Q. (The NANOGrav Collaboration)

Abstract (from CDS):

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 ∼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.

Abstract Copyright: © 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Gravitational waves

Simbad objects: 118

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Number of rows : 118
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA 		ICRS (J2000)
DEC 		Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026 		#notes
1 LBQS 0009-0138 QSO 00 12 10.9001801160 -01 22 07.588862904   16 18.1     ~ 55 0
2 LBQS 0020+0058 QSO 00 23 03.1552359216 +01 15 33.641555436   18.54 18.32     ~ 59 0
3 [VV2006] J014350.1+141452 QSO 01 43 50.1433425240 +14 14 53.055297384   19.17 18.89     ~ 25 0
4 QSO B0157+01 QSO 02 00 03.9356745672 +01 25 12.022198068     18.5     ~ 38 1
5 Z 538-57 Sy1 02 23 11.41124925 +42 59 31.3853324   15.71 14.81     ~ 582 2
6 QSO B0240-2339 QSO 02 42 51.9221939088 -23 26 33.692161488     19.9     ~ 9 0
7 PB 6894 QSO 02 49 28.8630182040 +01 09 24.675228324   18.96 18.65     ~ 45 0
8 QSO B0316-3437 QSO 03 18 06.4933403496 -34 26 36.035624652   15.30 15.1     ~ 35 0
9 2MASS J04114690+1324166 Sy1 04 11 46.9039467936 +13 24 16.726719528     17.40     ~ 15 1
10 [VV2000] J042630.1+070530 QSO 04 26 30.0943163160 +07 05 30.063956316   16.6       ~ 9 0
11 2MASS J04352649-1643460 Sy1 04 35 26.5053567144 -16 43 46.157021652   18.37   17.21   ~ 6 0
12 PSR B0613-02.0 Psr 06 13 43.977070 -02 00 47.34294           ~ 319 1
13 LEDA 3578384 Sy1 07 29 08.7235440000 +40 08 36.646640700   18.50 17.83     ~ 22 0
14 [VV2006] J080237.6+340446 QSO 08 02 37.6015363944 +34 04 46.302149820   19.11 18.78     ~ 23 0
15 ICRF J080512.8-011113 QSO 08 05 12.88848306 -01 11 13.7952408       17.87   ~ 71 0
16 SDSS J080648.65+184037.0 QSO 08 06 48.6498872616 +18 40 37.042234932           ~ 11 0
17 SDSS J080809.57+311519.1 QSO 08 08 09.5732265192 +31 15 19.083446352           ~ 10 0
18 [VV2006] J081133.5+065558 QSO 08 11 33.4319449968 +06 55 58.170128088   19.45 19.07     ~ 21 0
19 [VV2006] J081617.7+293639 QSO 08 16 17.7369946800 +29 36 39.660570540   18.85 18.59     ~ 28 0
20 [VV2000] J081740.2+232731 QSO 08 17 40.1286534912 +23 27 31.516923132   17.34 17.06     ~ 26 0
21 [VV2006] J082121.9+250817 QSO 08 21 21.8922552000 +25 08 17.612363976   18.24 18.11     ~ 26 0
22 [VV2006] J082716.9+490534 QSO 08 27 16.8567989424 +49 05 34.069081632   18.7 18.78 18.6   ~ 28 0
23 [VV2006] J082827.8+400333 QSO 08 28 27.8500137912 +40 03 33.915937428   18.32 18.06     ~ 31 0
24 SDSS J082926.01+180020.7 QSO 08 29 26.0209950696 +18 00 20.773367532   20.30 20.18     ~ 15 0
25 SDSS J083349.56+232809.0 QSO 08 33 49.5630305328 +23 28 09.056896176   18.25 17.95     ~ 25 1
26 SDSS J084146.19+503600.8 QSO 08 41 46.2002537592 +50 36 00.842165280           ~ 10 0
27 US 1498 Bla 08 42 15.3516545208 +45 25 44.182186752   18.16 17.70 16.5   ~ 68 1
28 [VV2006] J091554.5+352950 QSO 09 15 54.4977216840 +35 29 49.748628696   18.33 18.21     ~ 24 0
29 [VV98] J092358.7+584907 QSO 09 23 58.7902997304 +58 49 06.207463776   17.01 16.82     ~ 39 0
30 SDSS J092911.35+203708.5 QSO 09 29 11.3600757456 +20 37 08.594036364   19.32 19.13     ~ 22 0
31 [VV2000] J092952.2+355449 QSO 09 29 52.1764010208 +35 54 49.809696264   17.34 17.15     ~ 34 0
32 [VV2006] J093819.3+361858 QSO 09 38 19.2595425576 +36 18 58.742151408   19.85 19.65     ~ 21 0
33 2MASS J09445075+1512368 QSO 09 44 50.7659261592 +15 12 37.026972180   18.15 17.96     ~ 21 0
34 [VV2006] J094715.6+631716 QSO 09 47 15.5474095104 +63 17 16.544185044   16.76 16.67     ~ 24 0
35 QSO B0946+487 QSO 09 50 00.7413113688 +48 31 29.333280720   17.56 17.47     ~ 73 0
36 2MASSI J0951239+354248 Sy1 09 51 23.9261539344 +35 42 48.951281124   18.22 18.16     ~ 37 0
37 2MASS J10225522+1721556 QSO 10 22 55.2190432272 +17 21 55.777615740   19.59 19.24     ~ 15 0
38 [VV2006] J102349.4+522151 QSO 10 23 49.3878787056 +52 21 51.243711264   17.29 17.06     ~ 33 0
39 6C 102714+553158 BLL 10 30 24.9565664496 +55 16 22.561976712   17.25 17.05     ~ 62 1
40 [VV2006] J103111.5+491926 QSO 10 31 11.5255685064 +49 19 26.536286604   17.2 17.99 17.1   ~ 30 0
41 QSO B1041+055 QSO 10 44 30.2699156952 +05 18 57.174573312   18.34 17.99     ~ 32 0
42 SDSS J104758.34+284555.8 QSO 10 47 58.3412449368 +28 45 55.826944704   19.58 19.45     ~ 17 0
43 SDSS J104941.01+085548.4 QSO 10 49 41.0135293560 +08 55 48.457441344   18.82 18.53     ~ 14 0
44 [VV96] J105722.0-035126 QSO 10 57 22.2792474144 -03 51 32.029017012     18.47     ~ 12 0
45 [VV98] J110327.6+294820 QSO 11 03 27.4312701048 +29 48 10.306849824   17.7 18.01 17.8   ~ 23 0
46 2MASS J11055478+3229536 Sy1 11 05 54.7773382200 +32 29 53.722716900   18.88 18.47     ~ 9 0
47 PB 2830 QSO 11 30 50.2236926184 +26 12 11.429262072   18.10 17.86     ~ 16 0
48 2MASS J11391654+2544126 QSO 11 39 16.4753036784 +25 44 12.739874712   18.60 18.28     ~ 16 0
49 SDSS J114438.34+262609.4 QSO 11 44 38.3386139304 +26 26 09.493772856   17.9 18.84 18.1   ~ 19 0
50 SDSS J114749.70+163106.7 QSO 11 47 49.6999948104 +16 31 06.813961356   19.75 19.49     ~ 12 0
51 SDSS J114857.33+160023.1 QSO 11 48 57.3461957928 +16 00 23.086900872   18.80 18.49     ~ 21 0
52 SDSS J115141.81+142156.6 QSO 11 51 41.8138886424 +14 21 56.621795292   18.80 18.54     ~ 19 0
53 SDSS J115346.39+241829.4 QSO 11 53 46.3986523224 +24 18 29.455655220   19.18 19.05     ~ 15 0
54 2MASS J12101833+0154059 Sy1 12 10 18.3530672424 +01 54 05.913822960   17.58 17.39     ~ 38 0
55 2MASS J12101868+1857267 QSO 12 10 18.6631934064 +18 57 26.094363336   18.67 18.33     ~ 17 0
56 SDSS J121056.84+231912.5 QSO 12 10 56.8389061416 +23 19 12.549219240   19.42 19.09     ~ 13 0
57 [VV2006] J121457.4+132024 QSO 12 14 57.3978545280 +13 20 24.379100808   19.63 19.39     ~ 21 0
58 [VV2006] J123147.2+101705 QSO 12 31 47.2729562712 +10 17 05.385555528   19.34 19.13     ~ 28 0
59 2MASS J12382185+0300242 QSO 12 38 21.8481806856 +03 00 24.243700788   19.07 18.74     ~ 17 0
60 2MASS J12404449+2310459 BLL 12 40 44.4917106528 +23 10 45.855467652   19.13 19.00     ~ 25 1
61 SDSS J124119.04+203452.7 QSO 12 41 19.0497840960 +20 34 52.817298996   19.25 19.06     ~ 15 0
62 SDSS J124157.90+130104.1 QSO 12 41 57.8999523432 +13 01 04.100434788   19.42 19.15     ~ 19 0
63 LEDA 3096192 Sy1 12 50 29.0847684408 +06 36 10.459051164   17.78 17.61     ~ 19 0
64 SDSS J125414.23+131348.1 QSO 12 54 14.2360128744 +13 13 48.078319296   18.65 18.53     ~ 27 0
65 SDSS J130040.62+172758.4 QSO 13 00 40.6188861792 +17 27 58.428209916   19.63 19.35     ~ 16 0
66 QSO J1305-1033 Bla 13 05 33.0150535680 -10 33 19.430383680   15.18 15.23 14.46   ~ 624 1
67 2MASS J13120471+0641075 Sy1 13 12 04.7052127920 +06 41 07.683539568           ~ 28 0
68 PB 3465 QSO 13 17 06.1955092824 +27 14 16.754706168   18.56 18.37     ~ 25 0
69 SDSS J131909.08+090814.7 QSO 13 19 09.0817541352 +09 08 14.741125332   18.75 18.47     ~ 17 0
70 [VV2006] J132103.4+123748 QSO 13 21 03.4088258451 +12 37 48.191698143   19.11 18.97     ~ 31 1
71 PB 3958 QSO 13 31 27.3166115136 +18 24 17.020031940   18.20 17.94     ~ 18 0
72 PB 3999 QSO 13 35 16.1758731432 +18 33 41.459814864   18.63 18.34     ~ 17 0
73 SDSS J133631.45+175613.8 QSO 13 36 31.4541859752 +17 56 13.785499608           ~ 13 0
74 PB 4015 QSO 13 36 54.4420335528 +17 10 40.413494208   18.82 18.50     ~ 21 1
75 SDSS J133807.69+360220.3 QSO 13 38 07.6961743464 +36 02 20.289767820   19.13 18.94     ~ 18 0
76 [VV2010] J134820.5+194831 Sy1 13 48 20.4287295288 +19 48 31.557405276   19.18 18.97     ~ 5 0
77 [VV2006] J134855.3-032141 QSO 13 48 55.2786392448 -03 21 41.421744504   17.90 17.68     ~ 28 0
78 2MASS J13522581+1328532 QSO 13 52 25.8018430896 +13 28 53.277181788   17.25 17.12     ~ 15 0
79 2MASS J14060025+0132520 Sy1 14 06 00.2644574640 +01 32 52.249955496   18.32 18.11     ~ 30 0
80 2MASS J14070446+2735565 QSO 14 07 04.4347812168 +27 35 56.677880184   18.10 17.89     ~ 25 0
81 [VV96] J141040.4-101730 QSO 14 10 40.2795880320 -10 17 29.765835924     17.6     ~ 4 0
82 2MASS J14142592+1718113 QSO 14 14 25.9230171168 +17 18 11.336204592           ~ 12 0
83 3C 298.0 Bla 14 19 08.1802187928 +06 28 34.802854680   17.12 16.79     ~ 422 1
84 SDSS J142301.96+101500.1 QSO 14 23 01.9655449392 +10 15 00.144079488   18.70 18.38     ~ 17 0
85 2MASS J14362129+0727208 QSO 14 36 21.2927501928 +07 27 20.905261128   17.59 17.33     ~ 24 0
86 SDSS J143820.61+055447.8 QSO 14 38 20.6180427096 +05 54 47.814132744   19.13 19.02     ~ 25 0
87 SDSS J144754.62+132610.0 QSO 14 47 54.6171420456 +13 26 10.128907608   19.08 18.93     ~ 16 0
88 2MASS J14475558+1000404 QSO 14 47 55.5759725520 +10 00 40.066969968   18.31 18.12     ~ 20 0
89 QSO J1504+0122 QSO 15 04 50.1657334920 +01 22 15.593761416   18.19 17.89     ~ 27 0
90 [VV96] J151806.6+013134 QSO 15 18 06.6233775864 +01 31 34.239337932   20.1       ~ 17 0
91 SDSS J152035.23+095925.2 QSO 15 20 35.2370711064 +09 59 25.288184544   20.31 19.91     ~ 13 0
92 2MASS J15215701+1810188 Sy1 15 21 57.0224212680 +18 10 18.668116308   19.13 18.87     ~ 17 0
93 QSO J1536+0441 QSO 15 36 36.2230215960 +04 41 27.067415352   17.75 17.41     ~ 81 1
94 [VV2006] J154409.6+024040 QSO 15 44 09.6100192128 +02 40 40.117398996   19.48 19.12     ~ 28 0
95 [VV2006] J155449.1+084204 QSO 15 54 49.1135288088 +08 42 04.838896368   17.82 17.56     ~ 31 0
96 SDSS J155647.78+181531.5 QSO 15 56 47.7870552144 +18 15 31.568480100   19.12 18.93     ~ 16 0
97 PSR J1600-3053 Psr 16 00 51.902514 -30 53 49.45343           ~ 218 0
98 SDSS J160730.33+144904.3 QSO 16 07 30.3363701232 +14 49 04.351345212   18.59 18.37     ~ 17 0
99 2MASS J16101367+3117562 Sy1 16 10 13.6708976160 +31 17 56.375263860   18.24 17.91     ~ 28 0
100 SDSS J161854.64+230859.1 QSO 16 18 54.6418031520 +23 08 59.068206600   18.96 18.77     ~ 18 0
101 [VV2000] J163302.7+234928 QSO 16 33 02.6637519552 +23 49 28.517168676   15.94 15.67     ~ 39 0
102 [VV2006] J164452.7+430751 QSO 16 44 52.7110765488 +43 07 52.289717052   18.02 17.72     ~ 29 0
103 [VV2006] J165136.8+434740 QSO 16 51 36.7638070080 +43 47 41.294092560   18.81 18.57     ~ 26 0
104 MCG+05-40-026 Sy1 17 01 07.7786859408 +29 24 24.583886064   16.63 15.78     ~ 106 1
105 SDSS J170616.24+370927.0 QSO 17 06 16.2417277368 +37 09 26.982532044   19.26 18.86     ~ 14 0
106 PSR J1713+0747 Psr 17 13 49.5367813 +07 47 37.450240           ~ 530 1
107 [VV2000] J171720.0+212816 QSO 17 17 19.9884791280 +21 28 15.192204816   16.0       ~ 7 0
108 [VV2000] J172354.3+374841 QSO 17 23 54.3004834440 +37 48 41.330965932     17.72     ~ 20 0
109 [VV2006] J172656.9+600348 QSO 17 26 56.9582268864 +60 03 48.511596744   19.32 19.04     ~ 25 0
110 4C 50.43 QSO 17 31 03.6840087000 +50 07 35.286708648     17.7     ~ 37 1
111 PSR J1741+1351 Psr 17 41 31.1499024 +13 51 44.279709           ~ 122 0
112 PSR J1911+1347 Psr 19 11 55.204694 +13 47 34.38383           ~ 72 0
113 4C -02.81 BLL 21 34 10.30958988 -01 53 17.2389056   18.6 19.00 18.87   ~ 431 1
114 QSO B2153-2026 Bla 21 56 33.7557224688 -20 12 30.895934220   17.15 17.01 15.9   ~ 56 1
115 SDSS J221016.97+122213.9 QSO 22 10 16.9818288744 +12 22 13.880945568   19.03 18.94     ~ 24 0
116 [VV2006] J221925.2-305408 QSO 22 19 25.1632264680 -30 54 07.868094588   18.66 17.97 18.96   ~ 8 0
117 2MASS J22222112+1959474 QSO 22 22 21.1279803360 +19 59 47.567354784   17.7       ~ 22 0
118 2MASS J22482949+1444180 QSO 22 48 29.4723634464 +14 44 18.038022576   18.99 18.86     ~ 29 0

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