Assessing the performance of future space-based detectors: astrophysical foregrounds and individual sources

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the potential of future space-based gravitational wave detectors in various frequency ranges, focusing on astrophysical foregrounds and source detection capabilities.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of three proposed detectors' ability to observe diverse gravitational wave sources and background signals.

Findings

Decihertz Observatory shows promising detection potential for black hole binaries.

Unresolved gravitational wave background varies significantly across detectors.

Source detection capabilities depend on the detector design and astrophysical source populations.

Abstract

The space mission LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), scheduled for launch in 2035, aims to detect gravitational wave (GW) signals in the milli-Hz band. In the context of ESA Voyage 2050 Call for new mission concepts, other frequency ranges are explored by the Gravitational-Wave Space 2050 Working Group to conceive new proposals for a post-LISA space-based detector. In this work, we give a preliminary estimate of the observational potential of three mission designs proposed in the literature, namely $\mu$Ares, AMIGO and the Decihertz Observatory. The analysis framework includes astrophysical GW sources such as massive black hole binaries, extreme mass-ratio inspirals and compact binaries such as stellar black holes and white dwarfs. For each detector, we first present a consistent computation of the unresolved gravitational wave background (GWB) produced by the sum of all anticipated astrophysical populations, using an iterative subtraction algorithm. We then investigate which types of systems are the most appealing, by measuring the number of GW signals detected and exploring the source properties.