Waveform modelling for the laser interferometer space antenna

Abstract

LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, will usher in a new era in gravitational-wave astronomy. As the first anticipated space-based gravitational-wave detector, it will expand our view to the millihertz gravitational-wave sky, where a spectacular variety of interesting new sources abound: from millions of ultra-compact binaries in our Galaxy, to mergers of massive black holes at cosmological distances; from the early inspirals of stellar-mass black holes that will ultimately venture into the ground-based detectors’ view to the death spiral of compact objects into massive black holes, and many sources in between. Central to realising LISA’s discovery potential are waveform models, the theoretical and phenomenological predictions of the pattern of gravitational waves that these sources emit. This White Paper is presented on behalf of the Waveform Working Group for the LISA Consortium. It provides a review of the current state of waveform models for LISA sources, and describes the significant challenges that must yet be overcome.

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Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Afshordi, N. Akçay, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2216-421X Seoane, P.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3993-3249 Antonelli, A. Aurrekoetxea, J.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9584-5791 Barack, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4742-9413 Barausse, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6499-6263 Benkel, R. Bernard, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2856-1662 Bernuzzi, S. Berti, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0751-5130 Bonetti, M. Bonga, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5808-9517 Bozzola, G. Brito, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7807-3053 Buonanno, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5433-1409 Cárdenas-Avendaño, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9528-1826 Casals, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8914-4072 Chernoff, D.F. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7394-1675 Chua, A.J.K. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5242-8269 Clough, K. Colleoni, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7214-9088 Compère, G. Dhesi, M. Druart, A. Durkan, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8593-5793 Faye, G. Ferguson, D. Field, S.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6037-3277 Gabella, W.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2954-512X García-Bellido, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9370-8360 Gracia-Linares, M. Gerosa, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0933-3579 Green, S.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6987-6313 Haney, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7554-3665 Hannam, M. Heffernan, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3355-9671 Hinderer, T. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3394-6105 Helfer, T. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6880-1005 Hughes, S.A. Husa, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0445-1971 Isoyama, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6247-2642 Katz, M.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7605-5767 Kavanagh, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2874-9780 Khanna, G. Kidder, L.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5392-7342 Korol, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6725-5935 Küchler, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6609-1684 Laguna, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2539-3897 Larrouturou, F. Tiec, A.L. Leather, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6186-7271 Lim, E.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6227-9540 Lim, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8435-9533 Littenberg, T.B. Long, O. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3897-9272 Lousto, C.O. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6400-9640 Lovelace, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7084-1070 Lukes-Gerakopoulos, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6333-3094 Lynch, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4070-7150 Macedo, R.P. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2942-5080 Markakis, C. Maggio, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1960-8185 Mandel, I. Maselli, A. Mathews, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5477-8470 Mourier, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8078-6901 Neilsen, D. Nagar, A. Nichols, D.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4758-9460 Novák, J. Okounkova, M. O’Shaughnessy, R. Oshita, N. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8799-1382 O’Toole, C. Pan, Z. Pani, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4443-1761 Pappas, G. Paschalidis, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8099-9023 Pfeiffer, H.P. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9288-519X Pompili, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0710-6778 Pound, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9446-0638 Pratten, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4984-0775 Rüter, H.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3442-5360 Ruiz, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7532-4144 Sam, Z. Sberna, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8751-9889 Shapiro, S.L. Shoemaker, D.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9899-6357 Sopuerta, C.F. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-4447 Spiers, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0222-7578 Sundar, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9001-5107 Tamanini, N. Thompson, J.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0419-5517 Toubiana, A. Tsokaros, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2242-8924 Upton, S.D. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2965-7674 van de Meent, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0242-2464 Vernieri, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4379-2549 Wachter, J.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1070-2431 Warburton, N. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0914-8645 Wardell, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6176-9006 Witek, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3043-163X Witzany, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9209-5355 Yang, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9965-3030 Zilhão, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7089-5570 Albertini, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-1323 Arun, K.G. Bezares, M. Bonilla, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7001-0728 Chapman-Bird, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2728-9612 Cownden, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5831-1384 Cunningham, K. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1094-2267 Devitt, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7650-5828 Dolan, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4672-6523 Duque, F. Dyson, C. Fryer, C.L. Gair, J.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1671-3668 Giacomazzo, B. Gupta, P. Han, W.-B. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2039-0726 Haas, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1424-6178 Hirschmann, E.W. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2164-8001 Huerta, E.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9682-3604 Jetzer, P. Kelly, B. Khalil, M. Lewis, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8345-3176 Lloyd-Ronning, N. Marsat, S. Nardini, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3523-0477 Neef, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3215-5694 Ottewill, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3293-8450 Pantelidou, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7983-8636 Piovano, G.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1782-6813 Redondo-Yuste, J. Sagunski, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3506-3306 Stein, L.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7559-9597 Skoupý, V. Sperhake, U. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3134-7088 Speri, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5442-7267 Spieksma, T.F.M. Stevens, C. Trestini, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4140-0591 Vañó-Viñuales, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8589-006X
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2025 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords:	Gravitational Physics; Optical interferometry; Signal Processing; Signal, Speech and Image Processing; Technoscience; Time-domain Astronomy
Dates:	Accepted: 30 January 2025 Published (online): 30 October 2025 Published: 30 October 2025
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Date Deposited:	04 Nov 2025 16:15
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2025 16:15
Published Version:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s41114-025-00056-1
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1007/s41114-025-00056-1
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:233926

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Waveform modelling for the laser interferometer space antenna

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