Abstract

The number of known millisecond pulsars has dramatically increased in the last few years. Regular observations of these pulsars may allow gravitational waves with frequencies ~10^–9 Hz to be detected. A 'pulsar timing array' is therefore complimentary to other searches for gravitational waves using ground-based or space-based interferometers that are sensitive to much higher frequencies. In this review we describe (1) the basic methods for using an array of pulsars as a gravitational wave detector, (2) the sources of the potentially detectable waves, (3) current limits on individual sources and a stochastic background, and (4) the new project recently started using the Parkes radio telescope.