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What does the Universe sound like?

Francesco Iacovelli

Abstract

Unlike electromagnetic telescopes, gravitational-wave (GW) detectors cannot produce pretty pictures, but we can convert GW signals into sound. I compute what the Universe actually sounds like by averaging over $\sim10^6$ synthetic compact binary coalescence events occurring throughout 2026. The result: a soothing, low-frequency rumble, perfect for sleeping, meditation, or contemplating the violent nature of spacetime. This is the $Universal\ harmony$, audio file included!

What does the Universe sound like?

Abstract

Unlike electromagnetic telescopes, gravitational-wave (GW) detectors cannot produce pretty pictures, but we can convert GW signals into sound. I compute what the Universe actually sounds like by averaging over synthetic compact binary coalescence events occurring throughout 2026. The result: a soothing, low-frequency rumble, perfect for sleeping, meditation, or contemplating the violent nature of spacetime. This is the , audio file included!

Paper Structure

This paper contains 4 sections, 2 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Methodology
  3. Results: The Universal Harmony
  4. Conclusions

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Distribution of the primary source-frame masses, mass ratios, redshifts, and spins of the chosen BBH, NSBH and BNS populations. These parameters determine the pitch, timbre, and duration of each cosmic chirp.
  • Figure 2: Left panel: average 10 min time-domain strain for BBH, BNS, and NSBH systems. Right panel: total average frequency domain strain for the sum of the three considered populations of sources.