Evolution of the CE merger. Top: Orbital separation over time. The dashed black line indicates the computed tidal disruption radius at 2.4 × 10⁹ cm. Middle: Hydrodynamical evolution of the core merger resulting from a CE merger. The density is color-coded. The computation of the gravitational waves starts at the onset of steady mass transfer. The more massive companion shreds mass from the less massive, less dense core of the RG. The separation between the two objects slowly decreases until it reaches the point of tidal disruption at ∼840 s. The companion accretes a fraction of the mass from the former RG core (∼0.11 M_⊙), while the remaining mass forms a disk-like structure around it. Bottom: Strain of the GW signal over time released by the CE merger (cross-polarization in the z-direction, ).