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The observed binary black hole (BBH) mergers indicate a large Galacticprogenitor population continuously evolving from large orbital separations andlow gravitational wave (GW) frequencies to the final merger phase. Weinvestigate the equilibrium distribution of binary black holes in the Galaxy.Given the observed BBH merger rate, we contrast the expected number of systemsradiating in the low-frequency $0.1-10\,$mHz GW band under two assumptions: (1)that all merging systems originate from near-circular orbits, as may beindicative of isolated binary evolution, and (2) that all merging systemsoriginate at very high eccentricity, as predicted by models ofdynamically-formed BBHs and triple and quadruple systems undergoing Lidov-Kozaieccentricity oscillations. We show that the equilibrium number of systemsexpected at every frequency is higher in the eccentric case (2) than in thecircular case (1) by a factor of $\simeq 2-15$. This follows from the fact thateccentric systems spend more time than circular systems radiating in thelow-frequency GW bands. The GW emission comes in pulses at periastron separatedby the orbital period, which may be days to years. For a LISA-like sensitivitycurve, we show that if eccentric systems contribute significantly to theobserved merger rate, then $\simeq 10$ eccentric systems should be seen in theGalaxy.

The Population of Eccentric Binary Black Holes: Implications for mHz Gravitational Wave Experiments