The phase of a binary system where two compact objects orbit each other with decreasing separation, losing energy through gravitational wave emission. This process accelerates as the objects get closer, eventually leading to merger.
Formed by combining prefix 'in-' (Latin, meaning 'into') with 'spiral' (Latin 'spiralis'). The term developed in gravitational wave astronomy in the 1980s-90s to describe the characteristic orbital decay phase before merger.
During inspiral, two neutron stars can orbit each other hundreds of times per second while getting closer together, like water circling a drain but in reverse—instead of slowing down, they speed up dramatically! The entire inspiral phase we can detect might represent millions of years of orbital decay compressed into just a few minutes of observable signal.
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