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Black hole mergers as the fastest photon ring scramblers

D. Giataganas1,2, G. F. Giudice3,4, A. Ianniccari5, A. J. Iovino3, A. Kehagias6, F. Quevedo3,7, D. Perrone5, and A. Riotto5,8

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 023556 – Published 23 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/q8j1-w2nr

Abstract

Black holes are the most efficient scramblers in nature. By mapping the instantaneous mass and angular momentum of two spinless black holes in a quasicircular binary onto those of an effective Kerr black hole, we demonstrate that the final state of the merger remnant corresponds with remarkable accuracy to the configuration that renders null geodesics unstable at the highest possible rate. This suggests a deep connection between the properties of black holes resulting from binary mergers and their unstable null orbits.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 023556– Published 23 July, 2026
  • Received 16 March 2026
  • Accepted 9 July 2026
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