  Cosmological simulations of galaxy formation can produce present-day galaxies
with a large range of assembly and star formation histories. A detailed study
of the metallicity evolution and star formation history of such simulations can
assist in predicting LIGO-detectable compact object binary mergers. Recent
simulations of compact binary evolution suggest the compact object merger rate
depends sensitively on the progenitor's metallicity. Rare low-metallicity star
formation during galaxy assembly can produce more detected compact binaries
than typical star formation. Using detailed simulations of galaxy and chemical
evolution, we determine how sensitively the compact binary populations of
galaxies with similar present-day appearance depend on the details of their
assembly. We also demonstrate by concrete example the extent to which dwarf
galaxies overabundantly produce compact binary mergers, particularly binary
black holes, relative to more massive galaxies. We discuss the implications for
transient multimessenger astronomy with compact binary sources.
