Black Hole Mergers and Cosmological Probes in Energy Quantum Theory

This monograph presents a comprehensive analysis of black hole mergers and gravitational-wave detection through the lens of Energy Quantum Theory (EQT) —a process-oriented framework in which physical reality is constituted not by static entities, but by the dynamic evolution of an energy quantum density field (r, t). We reinterpret the merger process as a self-catalytic gradient collapse governed by the nonlinear equation ̇ = k ², with cosmic expansion understood as global gradient dilution ( (1+z) ^-4) rather than metric stretching. From this foundation, we derive the EQT characteristic time formula, ₎₁ₒ (1+z) ^1/2 f^-3/2, and introduce the dimensionless L/R ratio as a universal discriminant between binary black holes (L/R 10¹) and binary neutron stars (L/R 10⁴), the latter exhibiting tidal delay due to cross-frequency coupling between gravitational and electromagnetic energy quanta. We further articulate EQT’s detection philosophy: observation is not passive reception but resonant participation within a detector’s intrinsic frequency window. This yields concrete design implications for LISA, Einstein Telescope, and Athena, and leads to testable predictions—including deviations from the Mc^-5/3 scaling law, a low-frequency cutoff in gravitational-wave spectra signaling a graviton mass, and cosmic-scale imprints of cyclic gradient freezing. Finally, we argue that the human observational window (10^10–10^20 Hz) is not accidental but a necessary condition for complexity and intelligence, offering a physics-grounded rationale for SETI strategies. By unifying black hole dynamics, cosmology, and measurement theory under a single process ontology, this work advances EQT as both a predictive physical framework and a coherent metaphysical alternative to spacetime substantivalism.