The Stages of a Black Hole Merger (IMAGE)

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery

The Stages of a Black Hole Merger

Caption

First, both black holes orbit each other, slowly approaching, during the inspiral stage.. Second the two black holes merge, forming a distorted black hole. Finally, the black hole reaches its final form. b: Frequency of the gravitational-wave signals observed from the top of the collision (leftmost) and from various positions on its equator (rest) as a function of time. The first signal shows the typical "chirping" signal, in which the frequency raises as a function of time. The other three show that, after the collision (at t=0) the frequency drops and rises again, producing a second "chirp".

Credit

C. Evans, J. Calderón Bustillo

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