Center of Gravity Seminar: Jean-Baptiste Bayle

Title: Status, challenges and perspectives for LISA

Abtract: The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), scheduled for launch in the mid-2030s, will open a completely new observational window on the gravitational-wave universe. Unlike ground-based detectors, LISA will operate in the millihertz band using million-kilometre laser links between three spacecraft in heliocentric orbit. In this talk, I will review the current status of the mission and highlight the key measurement principles that make LISA unique. I will then survey the major science targets—from massive black-hole mergers and extreme mass-ratio inspirals to galactic binaries, cosmology, and potential signatures of new physics. Finally, I will discuss ongoing efforts in waveform modeling, data analysis, and mission design, and outline some of the open questions that the community is actively addressing as we prepare for the first space-based gravitational-wave observatory.