Physics Colloquium

Supermassive Black Holes as Revealedby LISA: How Gravitational Wave Astronomy Will be a Game Changer

Astronomers now know that supermassive black holes are in nearly every galaxy.  Though these black holes are anobservational certainty, nearly every aspect of their evolution -- from their birth, to their fuel source, to their basic dynamics -- is a matter of lively debate. Fortunately, LISA, a space-based gravitational wave observatory set to launch in 2034, will revolutionize this field by providing data that is complementary to electromagnetic observations as well as data in regimes that are electromagnetically dark. This talk will touch on our current understandingof how SMBHs form, evolve, and alter their galaxy host, and will outline the theoretical, computational and observational work needed to make the most of LISA observations.