Quantifying the Scientific Potential of Intermediate and Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals with the LISA
Interactive visualization showing science reach of Intermediate and Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral (IMRI/EMRI), key sources of gravitational waves from the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). You can investigate how the detector degradation of LISA affects the science reach of IMRI/EMRI sources, in terms of both redshift reach and measurement precision of source parameters. If you use these results please cite our work as explained at
LISA Redshift Horizon vs Primary Mass
Shows the maximum redshift at which EMRIs can be detected with a given SNR threshold. Includes overlay of electromagnetic observations (QPE, AGN, Quasars, TDEs) for comparison.
Degradation Model: Sₙ(f) → d × Sₙ(f), which translates to SNR_degraded = SNR_original / √d
Mission Lifetime Tpl (years)
Spin (a)
Secondary Mass Filter
5 100
0.5 3