Recent progress with pulsar timing array experiments, especially from the NANOGrav collaboration, indicates that we are on the cusp of detecting significant signals from the inspiral of supermassive black hole (BH) binaries. While recent analysis has focused on nearby galaxies as possible sources of the loudest signals, we show that mergers in identified clusters at z ∼ 1 can have larger strain amplitudes. We make an estimate comparing the nearby Two Micron All Sky Survey redshift survey (2MASS) galaxy sample with the more distant Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWs) cluster sample, showing that the latter might be expected to contribute more, and louder, gravitational-wave events. Thus, the first individual source detections may well be from ultramassive BHs in clusters at z ∼ 1, rather than nearby galaxies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.