Research

Overview

(Artist's impression of the LISA mission. Image credit: University of Florida / Simon Barke)

My current research focuses on analysis of the number and properties of galaxies within the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) localization volume and its potential synergy with current and future electromagnetic observatories such as Athena, AXIS, Lynx, Rubin LSST, and others.

At the University of Maryland, I worked with Dr. M. Coleman Miller to do analyze assumptions and complete order-of-magnitude calculations relevant to binary stellar-mass black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) accretion disks. During my time at UMD, I also studied exoplanet atmospheric modeling and transmission spectra with Dr. Eliza Kempton. I studied particle collision events with Dr. Dmitri Tsybychev during a research experiences for undergraduates (REU) program at Stony Brook University in summer 2021.

Publications

  1. Kate Futrowsky, Tamara Bogdanović, ..., and Weixiang Yu, "Preliminary census of galaxies in the LISA localization volume: II. Properties of candidate massive black hole binary hosts using the Illustris-TNG100 cosmological simulation" (in prep).
  2. Carolyn L. Drake, …, Kate E. Futrowsky, and Weixiang Yu, “Preliminary census of galaxies in the LISA localization volume: I. Searching for LISA candidate massive black hole binary merger hosts using Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry” Submitted to MNRAS (2025).
  3. Weixiang Yu, …, Kate E. Futrowsky, and Steinn Sigurdsson, “Contaminating Electromagnetic Transients in LISA Gravitational Wave Localization Volumes. I: The Intrinsic Rates” ApJ, 981 141 (2025) doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/adb283
  4. Zoltán Haiman, …, Kate E. Futrowsky, …, and Jonathan Zrake, “Massive Black Hole Binaries as LISA Precursors in the High Latitude Time Domain Survey” [Roman Core Community Survey White Paper] arXiv:2306.14990 (2023).
  5. Eliza M.-R. Kempton, …, Kate E. Futrowsky, …, and Carlos E. Munoz-Romero, "Where are the Water Worlds?: Self-Consistent Models of Water-Rich Exoplanet Atmospheres" ApJ, 953 57 (2023) doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ace10d.

Presentations and Talks

  • Prospects for Multimessenger Observations of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries with PTAs and Electromagnetic Observatories; poster (2025). The Era of Supermassive Black Holes: Coordination of Nanohertz-Frequency Gravitational Wave Follow-up conference; Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen, CO.
  • Prospects for Multimessenger Observations of Massive Black Hole Binaries with LISA and Electromagnetic Observatories; poster (2024). The 2024 Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI) Workshop: The Formation and Early Evolution of Supermassive Black Holes; Baltimore, MD.
  • Prospects for Multimessenger Observations of LISA Massive Black Hole Binaries; talk (2024). The 2024 LISA Astrophysics Working Group Meeting; Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), Garching, Germany.
  • Preparing for Multimessenger Observations of Massive Black Hole Binaries with LISA; talk (2024). Clemson University; Clemson, SC.
  • Prospects for Multimessenger Observations of Massive Black Hole Binaries with LISA and Electromagnetic Observatories; poster (2024). The 243rd Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society; New Orleans, LA.
  • Multimessenger Observations of Merging Massive Black Holes with Roman and LISA; poster, (2023). The Space Telescope Science Institute; Baltimore, MD; The 2023 Georgia Regional Astronomy Meeting; Decatur, GA.
  • The Concerning Status of Climate Change Legislation and Policies in the United States; talk (2022). The American Physical Society; College Park, MD.