Precision pulsar timing to map the gravitational-wave background

Pulsars are rapidly spinning ultra-compact stars that act like cosmic clocks. To search for ripples in spacetime known as gravitational waves, we carefully monitor their signals. My research develops new techniques to make pulsar observations more precise and sensitive to these waves. I also contribute to the analysis of data from the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, which has already revealed evidence for a background of gravitational waves at nanohertz frequencies. We produce maps of this background to help us uncover its origin, learn about galaxies and the history of the Universe.