A pair of black holes orbiting each other can gradually lose orbital energy until ultimately merging together. What form does that released energy take?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks about the form of energy released as two black holes lose orbital energy and merge. 
Option 1: X-rays. While some black hole mergers can produce electromagnetic signals under certain conditions, the dominant energy released in a typical binary black hole merger is not in the X-ray band; this makes X-rays an unlikely primary energy form. 
Option 2: Gamma rays. Similar to X-rays, gamma-ray emission is not the main or universal energy channel for the standard gravitational wave signal from merging black holes; any gamma rays would be incidental or model-dependent rather than fundamental to the merger’s energy budget. 
Option 3: Gravitational waves. This is the correct primary channel: as the black holes accelerate and spiral together, they emit ripples in spacetime—gravitational waves—that carry away most of the system’s energy and angular momentum, leading to the final merger and a ringdown. 
Option 4: Neutrinos. Neutrino emission is associated with some high-energy astrophysical processes, but it does not dominate the energy loss in the classic black hole binary merger scenario; neutrino signals are not the main energy form here. 
In summary, among the listed options, gravitational waves are the energy form most fundamentally linked to the orbital energy loss and merger of a black-hole binary, whereas the other options describe electromagnetic or particle channels that are not the primary energy carriers in the standard merger process.

ASTR-1-45046-F25 Lecture: The Stellar Graveyard

A pair of black holes orbiting each other can gradually lose orbital energy until ultimately merging together. What form does that released energy take?

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