Massive Black Hole Science with eLISA

Enrico Barausse,Emanuele Berti,Bangalore Sathyaprakash,Brian Farris,Jillian Bellovary,Alberto Sesana,Kelly Holley-Bockelmann

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/610/1/012001

Abstract

The evolving Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) will revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of massive black holes (MBHs) along cosmic history, by probing massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) in the 103 — 107 M⊙ range out to redshift z ≳ 10. High signal-to-noise ratio detections of ∼ 10 — 100 MBHB coalescences per year will allow accurate measurements of the parameters of individual MBHBs (such as their masses, spins and luminosity distance), and a deep understanding of the underlying cosmic MBH parent population. This wealth of unprecedented information can lead to breakthroughs in many areas of physics, including astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics. We review the current status of the field, recent progress and future challenges.

Highlights

The evolving Laser Interferometer Space Antenna is designed to be sensitive to gravitational waves (GWs) at mHz frequencies
According to our current understanding of structure formation in a ΛCDM Universe, massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) frequently form along cosmic history following galaxy mergers
massive black holes (MBHs) we see in today’s galaxies are expected to be the natural end-product of a complex evolutionary path, in which black holes (BHs) seeded in proto-galaxies at high redshift grow through cosmic history via a sequence of MBHB mergers and accretion episodes [3, 4]

Summary

Introduction

The evolving Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA, [1]) is designed to be sensitive to gravitational waves (GWs) at mHz frequencies. Individual spin measurements will allow us to test gravity in the strong-field regime with unprecedented accuracy; the collective properties of spin and mass distributions of the whole MBH population carry information on the physics of accretion flows, and in general of the intimate link between MBHs and galaxy evolution across cosmic time.

Results

Conclusion