https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Cosmology-and-Astroparticle-Physics-1475-7516/publication/401585777_Is_GW190521_a_gravitational_wave_echo_of_wormhole_remnant_from_another_universe/links/69a9b900bff9750ad9c81479/Is-GW190521-a-gravitational-wave-echo-of-wormhole-remnant-from-another-universe.pdf?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ
No, GW190521 is not proven to be a gravitational wave echo from a wormhole in another universe, as standard binary black hole merger models remain the preferred scientific explanation. [
1]
The Puzzling Signal
- Short duration: The GW190521 signal lasted less than a tenth of a second.
- Missing spiral phase: It lacked the long, rising "chirp" (inspiral phase) normally heard when two black holes slowly spiral together.
- High mass: The colliding objects were estimated to total around 142 to 150 times the mass of the Sun.[1, 2]
- Exotic proposal: A theoretical study suggested the signal might be a single, isolated echo pulse.
- Inter-universal tunnel: In this idea, two black holes merged in a parallel universe, and their post-merger ringdown vibrations traveled through a wormhole throat into our universe. [1, 2]
- Statistical preference: Bayesian analysis—a method used to compare competing scientific models—shows that standard data analysis still favors the conventional binary black hole collision hypothesis. [1]
- ** Viable alternative:** While not the leading explanation, the wormhole echo model cannot be completely ruled out as an alternative possibility for this unusual event. [1, 2]
