English

Forecasting Supermassive Black Hole Binary Gravitational Wave Probes: Prospects for Future Pulsar Timing Array and Space-Borne Detectors

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2026-02-09 v1

Abstract

We present a comprehensive framework for predicting the detection prospects of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) by future gravitational wave (GW) observatories, examining both space-borne detectors (LISA, Taiji, TianQin) and next-generation pulsar timing array (PTA) combined with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-PTA). Leveraging dual active galactic nucleus (AGN) fractions and AGN X-ray luminosity functions, we systematically evaluate the detectable SMBHB populations with a detection threshold of signal-to-noise ratio 5\geq 5 for each GW observatory. Our analysis reveals that space-borne detectors are expected to identify approximately 12\sim 1 \text{--} 2 to 20\sim 20 events per year, depending on the SMBHB orbital evolution prescriptions. On the other hand, SKA-PTA demonstrates the potential to reach the first GW detection from individual SMBHBs within a few years of observation and achieve detectable GW source counts of 10210310^2 \text{--} 10^3 after about 10 years, depending on PTA configurations. These facilities will significantly improve SMBHB detectability and enable characterization of their properties across different frequency bands.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.06789,
  title  = {Forecasting Supermassive Black Hole Binary Gravitational Wave Probes: Prospects for Future Pulsar Timing Array and Space-Borne Detectors},
  author = {Katsunori Kusakabe and Yoshiyuki Inoue and Daisuke Toyouchi and Keitaro Takahashi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.06789},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 6 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T10:24:37.733Z