We derive a zero-free-parameter prediction for gravitational wave echo timing from black hole mergers within the information-geometric framework. The information correlation length near a Schwarzschild black hole is xi = rₛ/ (2 pi), where rₛ is the Schwarzschild radius. The echo delay is tau = rₛ/ (pi c) = 2GM/ (pi c³), giving 0. 003136 (M/Mₛun) ms. Unlike standard exotic compact object models predicting delays of order rₛ ln (rₛ/lP) /c (tens of milliseconds for stellar-mass black holes), our prediction places echoes in the sub-millisecond regime. The echo amplitude is Aₑcho/Aᵣingdown = 1/ (2 dc) = 1/14 with geometric decay factor gamma = 0. 799. For intermediate-mass black hole mergers with M > 100 Mₛun, the echo frequency falls within LIGO's sensitive band. Stacking ~7 echoes from a single high-SNR IMBH event yields SNR ~ 2. 3; combining ~5-13 IMBH events (depending on ringdown SNR) achieves 5-sigma evidence. LIGO O5 provides a realistic first test; third-generation detectors would be definitive. Complete waveform templates, Bayesian model comparison with quantified Occam factors, multi-detector coherence requirements, and precise falsification criteria are presented.
Johnie Waddell (Sun,) studied this question.