Advancing Pulsar Science in the Era of Modern Interferometers

When galaxies merge, do their central supermassive black holes also merge? How does the merger affect star formation and the evolution of galaxies? How does physics beyond the Standard Model of particles affect the universe? The detection and characterization of low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs) will address these fundamental and longstanding questions of astronomy and cosmology. 

However, there are significant limitations in current techniques used in characterizing the gravitational wave background. These primarily arise from (a) poor observational models of the intervening interstellar medium that strongly affect radio observations of compact sources and (b) from uncertainties in distance estimates of pulsars. Solving these limitations requires theoretical and observational expertise in studying the interstellar medium (ISM) and in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI).

This workshop brings together, for the first time, leading experts in gravitational wave science, ISM and VLBI. It specifically aims to identify and address key observational and theoretical limitations across these fields through interactive discussions. This will facilitate significant mutual scientific advancements within each of these fields. 

Given the recent milestone evidence of low-frequency gravitational waves and the upcoming next-generation of radio telescopes, this workshop is extremely timely and important to make significant advances in pulsar and gravitational wave science - directly contributing to the global astronomical community. 

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