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Matteo Cantiello added textbf_The_Chirp_Signal_Explained__.tex
about 8 years ago
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\textbf{The "Chirp" Signal Explained}
Gravitational waves are produced when mass is accelerated, but their amplitude is generally super tiny. But when two massive, compact objects rotate very close to each other (for example two neutron stars or two black holes) then we have very large masses and huge accelerations, the key ingredient for producing lots of gravitational waves. A very specific gravitational waves signal called a "chirp" is expected when two black holes merge.
First the two black holes orbit each other and go through an inspiral phase in which the orbit shrinks due to increasing energy loss into gravitational waves. Smaller orbits correspond to higher orbital speeds, with the black holes moving faster and faster (up to about 50\% the speed of light) and the frequency of the generated gravitational waves increasing accordingly. The amplitude of the gravitational waves increases too, until the two black holes coalesce and the gravitational waves emission reaches a peak. After that the newly formed, more massive black hole goes through a sort of adjustment phase called ring-down. The event emits large amounts of gravitational waves for less than a second. The mass of the black holes, their distance and other important parameters can be reconstructed by looking at the particular properties of this very distinctive chirp signal.
