Scientists Discover Hidden Spiral Patterns in Black Hole Vibrations

Black holes don’t just bend space—they also create cosmic echoes. And for the first time, scientists have uncovered what those echoes truly sound like. (Credit: Shutterstock)

 Kyoto, Japan – A team of scientists has uncovered a striking new insight into the mysterious vibrations of black holes. By using advanced mathematics, researchers revealed that black hole “ringing” follows a spiraling frequency pattern, opening up a new way to understand the sounds of spacetime ripples when black holes collide.

Black Holes and Their Vibrations

Black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe, with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape. When disturbed—such as during a merger—they vibrate in patterns called quasinormal modes. These vibrations generate gravitational waves, which travel across the universe and can be detected on Earth. By studying these waves, scientists can learn about a black hole’s mass, spin, and shape.

However, analyzing the fading signals of these vibrations has always been a major challenge.

A New Mathematical Approach

To tackle this problem, researchers from Kyoto University turned to a mathematical tool known as the exact Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) method. While well established in pure mathematics, its use in black hole physics is still new.

Lead researcher Taiga Miyachi explained that this method allows scientists to track wave movement with extreme precision. By extending black hole geometry into the complex number domain, the team was able to uncover detailed structures that had previously been hidden.

Spiraling Patterns in Spacetime

One of the most fascinating discoveries was the role of Stokes curves—mathematical lines where the nature of a wave suddenly shifts. Earlier studies had overlooked the spiraling, infinite patterns of these curves. The new analysis showed that they are essential for understanding the full structure of black hole vibrations.

“We were surprised at how complex and beautiful the patterns were,” said Miyachi. “The spiraling structures gave us new insights into how black holes ring, something that was not seen before.”

Why This Matters

The findings show that the exact WKB method can precisely capture the frequency structure of black hole vibrations, even for weak and rapidly fading signals. This breakthrough could improve how scientists interpret gravitational wave data, making future space observations more accurate and reliable.

By analyzing the “sounds” of black holes more deeply, researchers hope to gain better insight into the geometry of the universe and even potential links to quantum gravity.

What’s Next?

The team now plans to extend their work to rotating black holes and test whether this method can be applied to theories beyond Einstein’s general relativity. Their approach may also help bridge the gap between theoretical models and real gravitational wave measurements.

The study, titled “Path to an exact WKB analysis of black hole quasinormal modes”, was published in Physical Review D on June 24, 2025.