Ross Church
Senior lecturer
Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
Author
Summary, in English
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be a transformative
experiment for gravitational wave astronomy, and, as such, it will offer
unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a
completely novel way. The synergy with ground-based and space-born
instruments in the electromagnetic domain, by enabling multi-messenger
observations, will add further to the discovery potential of LISA. The
next decade is crucial to prepare the astrophysical community for LISA’s
first observations. This review outlines the extensive landscape of
astrophysical theory, numerical simulations, and astronomical
observations that are instrumental for modeling and interpreting the
upcoming LISA datastream. To this aim, the current knowledge in three
main source classes for LISA is reviewed; ultra-compact stellar-mass
binaries, massive black hole binaries, and extreme or interme-diate mass
ratio inspirals. The relevant astrophysical processes and the
established modeling techniques are summarized. Likewise, open issues
and gaps in our understanding of these sources are highlighted, along
with an indication of how LISA could help making progress in the
different areas. New research avenues that LISA itself, or its joint
exploitation with upcoming studies in the electromagnetic domain, will
enable, are also illustrated. Improvements in modeling and analysis
approaches, such as the combination of numerical simulations and modern
data science techniques, are discussed. This review is intended to be a
starting point for using LISA as a new discovery tool for understanding
our Universe.
experiment for gravitational wave astronomy, and, as such, it will offer
unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a
completely novel way. The synergy with ground-based and space-born
instruments in the electromagnetic domain, by enabling multi-messenger
observations, will add further to the discovery potential of LISA. The
next decade is crucial to prepare the astrophysical community for LISA’s
first observations. This review outlines the extensive landscape of
astrophysical theory, numerical simulations, and astronomical
observations that are instrumental for modeling and interpreting the
upcoming LISA datastream. To this aim, the current knowledge in three
main source classes for LISA is reviewed; ultra-compact stellar-mass
binaries, massive black hole binaries, and extreme or interme-diate mass
ratio inspirals. The relevant astrophysical processes and the
established modeling techniques are summarized. Likewise, open issues
and gaps in our understanding of these sources are highlighted, along
with an indication of how LISA could help making progress in the
different areas. New research avenues that LISA itself, or its joint
exploitation with upcoming studies in the electromagnetic domain, will
enable, are also illustrated. Improvements in modeling and analysis
approaches, such as the combination of numerical simulations and modern
data science techniques, are discussed. This review is intended to be a
starting point for using LISA as a new discovery tool for understanding
our Universe.
Department/s
- Astrophysics
- eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
- Mathematics (Faculty of Sciences)
Publishing year
2023-03-14
Language
English
Publication/Series
Living Reviews in Relativity
Volume
26
Document type
Journal article review
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Keywords
- black holes
- gravitational waves
- stellar remnants
- multi-messenger
- extreme mass ratio in-spirals
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1433-8351