Predicting gravitational wave background: A holistic, systematic approach to multi-messenger view of massive black hole mergers

The genesis of galaxy mergers is driven by the hierarchical structure formation. Massive black holes in the centre of these galaxies are destined to form dual/binary systems which naturally produce strong nanohertz gravitational waves at the last stage of their evolution. To date, most multi-wavelength studies of dual/binary galaxy systems have been restricted to one (or a small
number of) interesting cases by conducting dedicated observations. However, this is about to change with our proposed project: we will take a holistic, systematic and long-term approach to identify and investigate samples of dual/binary galaxy systems (with and without active galactic nuclei, AGN) leveraging the state-of-the-art spectroscopic, photometric and high-resolution radio interferometer data across the full sky (e.g, WEAVE-LOFAR, SDSS, LSST, LOFAR-VLBI, ASKAP-VLBI), (magneto-) hydrodynmical simulations of galaxies, and machine learning methods. The results of the project will not only revolutionise the understanding of gravitational wave background but they will also provide key insights into the growth of galaxies and their massive black holes.

TBA