Exploring the Bayesian parameter estimation of binary black holes with LISA

Probing Distant Massive Black Holes with LISA

Idealized models are used to illustrate the potential of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) as a probe of the largely unknown population of cosmologically-distant Massive Black Holes (MBHs) and as a tool to measure their masses with unprecedented accuracy. The models suggest that LISA will most efficiently probe a MBH population of lower mass than the one found in bright quasars and ...

Untangling the Merger History of Massive Black Holes with LISA

Untangling the merger history of massive black holes with LISA

Binary black hole coalescences emit gravitational waves that will be measurable by the space-based detector LISA to large redshifts. This suggests that LISA may be able to observe black holes grow and evolve as the universe evolves, mapping the distribution of black hole masses as a function of redshift. An immediate difficulty with this idea is that LISA measures certain redshifted combination...

Intermediate-mass black holes as LISA sources

Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses in the range ∼102−4 M , would be unique sources of gravitational waves for LISA. Here we discuss their context as well as specific characteristics of IMBH–IMBH and IMBH– supermassive black hole mergers and how these would allow sensitive tests of the predictions of general relativity in strong gravity. PACS number: 97.60.Lf

Supermassive black holes as sources for LISA

I briefly discuss some issues relevant for the formation of supermassive black holes and give estimates of the event rates for the emission of gravitational waves by coalescing supermassive black hole binaries. I thereby use models which take into account recent improvements in our knowledge of galaxy and star formation in the high-redshift universe. Estimated event rates range from a few to a ...