Compact Binary Systems

• all binary systems emit gravitational waves as the constituents spiral toward each other and coalesce.
• black-hole and neutron-star binaries will emit strong bursts of gravitational waves just before, during, and after coalescence.
• sound theoretical predictions available for waveforms from the inspiral portion.
• preliminary theoretical (numerical) predictions available for waveforms from the coalescence portion
• typical expected parameters:
  • distortions of the order of 10^-22.
  • frequencies in Hz to kHz range.
  • durations of seconds to minutes.
• audio representation is here.