Probing distant massive black holes with LISA

Idealized models are used to illustrate the potential of the laser interferometer space antenna (LISA) as a probe of the largely unknown population of cosmologically-distant massive black holes (MBHs) and as a tool to measure their masses with unprecedented accuracy. The models suggest that LISA will most efficiently probe a MBH population of lower mass than the one found in bright quasars and nearby galactic nuclei. The mass spectrum of these MBHs could constrain formation scenarios for high-redshift, low-mass galaxies.