The recent evidence of a stochastic background of gravitational waves in the nHz band by pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments has shed new light on the formation and evolution of massive black hole binaries with masses $\sim {10}^8–{10}^9{M}_{\odot }$. The PTA data are consistent with a population of such binaries merging efficiently after the coalescence of their galactic hosts, and presenting masses slightly larger than previously expected. This momentous discovery calls for investigating the prospects of detecting the smaller ($\sim {10}^5–{10}^7{M}_{\odot }$) massive black hole binaries targeted by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). By using semianalytic models for the formation and evolution of massive black hole binaries calibrated against the PTA results, we find that LISA will observe at least a dozen and up to thousands of black hole binaries during its mission duration. The minimum number of detections rises to $\sim 70$ if one excludes models that only marginally reproduce the quasar luminosity function at $z=6$. We also assess LISA’s parameter estimation capabilities with state-of-the-art waveforms including higher modes and realistic instrumental response, and find that the masses, sky position, and distance will typically be estimated to within, respectively, 1%, 10 sq deg, and 10% for the detected systems (assuming a four-year mission).

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• Gravitational wave detection
• Gravitational waves