A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has solved the longstanding problem of a “dissonance” in gravitational waves emitted by a black hole.

Using high precision computing and a new theoretical physics framework, it was discovered that it was caused by a resonance between a pair of distinctive “modes” i.e. different ways in which a black hole can “ring.” The phenomenon offers new insights into the nascent field of black hole spectroscopy.

The research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.