The evolution of the spins of massive black holes

Enrico Barausse (U. of Guelph)

After reviewing the importance of black-hole spins in general relativity, astrophysics and cosmology, I will present a semianalytical model following the coevolution of the spins of massive black holes and their host galaxies. Besides showing results for the spin evolution of massive black holes as a function of redshift, I will discuss the implications of my model for future space-based gravitational-wave detectors.