 Schematic diagram of a black hole spin-flip. Image by Pickhorn at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed Public domain |
Flip BlackSpin-flip Spin-flip Sudden change of spin axis caused by merging with another black hole This article is about black hole spin-flips. For atomic spin-flips, see Hydrogen line. A black hole spin-flip occurs when the spin axis of a rotating black hole undergoes a sudden change in orientation due to absorption of a second (smaller) black hole. Spin-flips are believed to be a consequence of galaxy mergers, when two supermassive black holes form a bound pair at the center of the merged galaxy and coalesce after emitting gravitational waves. Spin-flips are significant astrophysically since a number of physical processes are associated with black hole spins; for instance, jets in active galaxies are believed to be launched parallel to the spin axes… (Source: Wikipedia)
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