What happens when black holes merge?

image via Space.com

October 21, 2024, 10:00 PM

• •Black holes orbit each other and lose orbital energy through interactions with their environment and gravitational waves
• •As the black holes get closer, they deform each other and send out tendrils that merge to form a bridge between them
• •The black holes merge into one and release a burst of gravitational waves

Black hole mergers are some of the most violent events in the cosmos. They begin with two black holes orbiting far from each other in long, lazy circles. As they get closer, they lose orbital energy through interactions with their environment and through the emission of gravitational waves. Eventually, the black holes get close enough that the gravitational waves can really pull a lot of energy from the system. At this point, the black holes have only a few seconds before they merge. What happens inside is anybody's guess. The center of a black hole is known as a singularity, a point of infinite density. This is where our current understanding of physics breaks down. Simulations show that the singularities quickly find each other, briefly orbit and then merge — but what actually happens is unclear.

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