2009/03/02 by M. Coleman Miller, Miller, M. Coleman, Tal Alexander +17
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0903.0285
openalex publication_date 2009/03/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Electromagnetic observations over the last 15 years have yielded a growing appreciation for the importance of supermassive black holes (SMBH) to the evolution of galaxies, and for the intricacies of dynamical interactions in our own Galactic center. Here we show that future low-frequency gravitational wave observations, alone or in combination with electromagnetic data, will open up unique windows to these processes. In particular, gravitational wave detections in the 10-5-10-1 Hz range will yield SMBH masses and spins to unprecedented precision and will provide clues to the properties of the otherwise undetectable stellar remnants expected to populate the centers of galaxies. Such observations are therefore keys to understanding the interplay between SMBHs and their environments.