| dc.description.abstract | We present the first 2.5 years of data from the MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array (MPTA), part of MeerTime, a MeerKAT Large
Survey Project. The MPTA aims to precisely measure pulse arrival times from an ensemble of 88 pulsars visible from the
Southern Hemisphere, with the goal of contributing to the search, detection and study of nanohertz-frequency gravitational
waves as part of the International Pulsar Timing Array. This project makes use of the MeerKAT telescope, and operates with
a typical observing cadence of two weeks using the L-band receiver that records data from 856-1712 MHz. We provide a
comprehensive description of the observing system, software, and pipelines used and developed for the MeerTime project. The
data products made available as part of this data release are from the 78 pulsars that had at least 30 observations between the start
of the MeerTime programme in February 2019 and October 2021. These include both sub-banded and band-averaged arrival
times, as well as the initial timing ephemerides, noise models, and the frequency-dependent standard templates (portraits) used
to derive pulse arrival times. After accounting for detected noise processes in the data, the frequency-averaged residuals of 67
of the pulsars achieved a root-mean-square residual precision of 1𝜇s.We also present a novel recovery of the clock correction
waveform solely from pulsar timing residuals, and an exploration into preliminary findings of interest to the international pulsar
timing community. The arrival times, standards and full Stokes parameter calibrated pulsar timing archives are publicly available. | en_US |
