The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna: Unveiling the Millihertz Gravitational Wave Sky

TL;DR

LISA will pioneer millihertz gravitational wave observations, detecting diverse astrophysical sources and offering new insights into stellar evolution, black hole formation, and cosmological phenomena, thus expanding our understanding of the universe.

Contribution

This paper discusses the capabilities and scientific potential of LISA as the first space-based gravitational wave observatory targeting the millihertz band.

Findings

LISA will detect tens of thousands of sources including white-dwarf binaries and black hole mergers.

It will provide insights into stellar evolution and galaxy-black hole co-evolution.

Potential to observe exotic sources like cosmic strings and inflationary fields.

Abstract

The first terrestrial gravitational wave interferometers have dramatically underscored the scientific value of observing the Universe through an entirely different window, and of folding this new channel of information with traditional astronomical data for a multimessenger view. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will broaden the reach of gravitational wave astronomy by conducting the first survey of the millihertz gravitational wave sky, detecting tens of thousands of individual astrophysical sources ranging from white-dwarf binaries in our own galaxy to mergers of massive black holes at redshifts extending beyond the epoch of reionization. These observations will inform - and transform - our understanding of the end state of stellar evolution, massive black hole birth, and the co-evolution of galaxies and black holes through cosmic time. LISA also has the potential to detect gravitational wave emission from elusive astrophysical sources such as intermediate-mass black holes as well as exotic cosmological sources such as inflationary fields and cosmic string cusps.