The evolving Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) will revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of massive black holes along cosmic history by probing massive black hole binaries in the 103−107 solar mass range out to redshift z≳10. High signal-to-noise ratio detections of ∼10−100 binary coalescences per year will allow accurate measurements of the parameters of individual binaries (such as their masses, spins and luminosity distance), and a deep understanding of the underlying cosmic massive black hole 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.
@article{arxiv.1410.2907,
title = {Massive Black Hole Science with eLISA},
author = {Enrico Barausse and Jillian Bellovary and Emanuele Berti and Kelly Holley-Bockelmann and Brian Farris and Bangalore Sathyaprakash and Alberto Sesana},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1410.2907},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
22 pages, 3 figures. Minor change (added two references) to match version accepted in the Proceedings of LISA Symposium X (Journal of Physics: Conference Series)