Generating EMRI Waveforms for Highly Eccentric Equitorial Orbits in LISA Signal Confusion Noise

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) will occasionally capture a stellar-mass compact object (CO) into a highly eccentric orbit, this is known as an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI). These events are prime sources for the proposed space-based gravitational wave detector LISA. However, highly eccentric EMRIs produce significant gravitational radiation only when the orbiting body has evolved in its orbit close to the SMBH. While a single source earlier in its inspiral is not likely to be detectable, an ensemble of many such sources may cause background confusion noise that could mask sources that LISA would otherwise detect. This project aims to improve upon previous studies by implementing a numerical kludge model. We will create a waveform catalog for use in modeling the signals emitted by highly eccentric EMRIs from the point of capture through one period. We will then obtain a SMBH mass function from Illustris, a cosmological simulation, and generate an updated noise curve for LISA.