A New Information-Entropic Metric for Quantifying Merger Stability in Binary Black Holes Using LIGO–Virgo Data

A New Information-Entropic Metric for Quantifying Merger Stability in Binary Black Holes Using LIGO–Virgo Data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A New Information-Entropic Metric for Quantifying Merger Stability in Binary Black Holes Using LIGO–Virgo Data Geun Hwi Lim This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8264043/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Binary black-hole mergers exhibit diverse dynamical behaviors shaped by their spins, mass ratios, and post-merger evolution. While these parameters are commonly analyzed individually, this separation limits the ability to quantify merger stability within a single, unified framework. Here, we introduce an empirical information-entropic efficiency index, I GW eff , which integrates effective spin, mass asymmetry, and ringdown decay time into a functional form calibrated against 35 observed LIGO–Virgo events. Across the catalog, I GW eff is consistently correlated with positive effective spin, lower mass asymmetry, and longer ringdown damping scales, enabling a reproducible characterization of merger stability. The resulting distribution reveals three stability regimes that emerge naturally in the (χ eff , ∆m) plane, offering a compact summary of dynamical behavior that complements conventional parameter-by-parameter analyses. As gravitational-wave detections continue to accelerate, this lightweight metric may support population studies, stability classification, and data-driven modeling of compact-binary evolution. Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Physical sciences/Physics gravitational waves binary black holes information entropy merger stability LIGO–Virgo Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files gwdata.csv Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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