Ultra-Low Frequency Gravitational Waves from Massive Clusters at z~1

Abstract: Recent progress with pulsar timing array experiments, especially from the NANOGrav collaboration indicate that we are on the cusp of detecting significant signals from the inspiral of super-massive black hole binaries (SMBHB). 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 2MASS redshift survey galaxy sample with the more distant 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 ultra-massive BH in clusters at z~1, rather than nearby galaxies.