Special TAPIR Seminar

In person: NOTE: 312 Cahill. To Join via Zoom: 851 0756 7442

Abstract: During their final years of inspiral, Massive Black Hole Binaries (MBHBs) with total mass ∼ [10^4, 10^7] MSun will radiate Gravitational Waves (GWs) at near-mHz frequencies, which the recently adopted space-based mission LISA will observe in the 2030s. Our current understanding is that an environment – mainly consisting of gas or stars – is required to bring MBHBs from a parsec scale to the near-merger stage.  I will demonstrate, using a realistic Bayesian inference with a complete LISA response model, the importance of modeling gas-induced perturbations and orbital eccentricity in the gravitational waveform of LISA MBHBs to constrain properties of their environment, promote synergies with electromagnetic counterparts, reduce biases on inferred binary parameters, and mitigate systematics in tests of general relativity. I will conclude by sharing results from my recent state-of-the-art hydrodynamical study, which, for the first time, directly measures gas torques and gas-induced GW dephasings for a MBHB system, a year away from its merger. LISA will launch in a decade, making this exploration exciting and valuable in unlocking the mysteries of MBHB evolution.