Context. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration recently obtained first images of the surroundings of the supermassive compact object M87* at the center of the galaxy M87. Aims. We want to develop a simple analytic disk model for the accretion flow of M87*. Compared to general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models, it has the advantage of being independent of the turbulent character of the flow, and controlled by only few easy-to-interpret, physically meaningful parameters. We want to use this model to predict the image of M87* assuming that it is either a Kerr black hole, or an alternative compact object. Methods. We compute the synchrotron emission from the disk model and propagate the resulting light rays to the far-away observer by means of relativistic ray tracing. Such computations are performed assuming different spacetimes (Kerr, Minkowski, non-rotating ultracompact star, rotating boson star or Lamy spinning wormhole). We perform numerical fits of these models to the EHT data. Results. We discuss the highly-lensed features of Kerr images and show that they are intrinsically linked to the accretion-flow properties, and not only to gravitation. This fact is illustrated by the notion of secondary ring that we introduce. Our model of spinning Kerr black hole predicts mass and orientation consistent with the EHT interpretation. The non-Kerr images result in similar quality of the numerical fits and may appear very similar to Kerr images, once blurred to the EHT resolution. This implies that a strong test of the Kerr spacetime may be out of reach with the current data. We notice that future developments of the EHT could alter this situation. Conclusions. Our results show the importance of studying alternatives to the Kerr spacetime in order to be able to test the Kerr paradigm unambiguously.
The $5 - 20 M_\odot$ dark objects in X-ray binary systems and the $10^5 - 10^9 M_\odot$ dark objects in galactic nuclei are currently thought to be the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity. However, direct observational evidence for this identification is still elusive, and the only viable approach to confirm the Kerr black hole hypothesis is to explore and rule out any other possibility. Here we investigate the final stages of the accretion process onto generic compact objects. While for Kerr black holes and for more oblate bodies the accreting gas reaches the innermost stable cir…
A black hole casts a shadow as an optical appearance because of its strong gravitational field. We study how to determine the spin parameter and the inclination angle by observing the apparent shape of the shadow, which is distorted mainly by those two parameters. Defining some observables characterizing the apparent shape (its radius and distortion parameter), we find that the spin parameter and inclination angle of a Kerr black hole can be determined by the observation. This technique is also extended to the case of a Kerr naked singularity.
Under the assumption that astrophysical black hole candidates are the Kerr black holes of general relativity, the continuum-fitting method and the analysis of the K$α$ iron line are today the only available techniques capable of providing a relatively reliable estimate of the spin parameter of these objects. If we relax the Kerr black hole hypothesis and we try to test the nature of black hole candidates, we find that there is a strong correlation between the measurement of the spin and possible deviations from the Kerr solution. The properties of the radiation emitted in a Kerr spacetime with…
We describe a new numerical algorithm for ray tracing in the external spacetimes of spinning compact objects characterized by arbitrary quadrupole moments. Such spacetimes describe non-Kerr vacuum solutions that can be used to test the no-hair theorem in conjunction with observations of accreting black holes. They are also appropriate for neutron stars with spin frequencies in the 300-600 Hz range, which are typical of the bursting sources in low-mass X-ray binaries. We use our algorithm to show that allowing for the quadrupole moment of the spacetime to take arbitrary values leads to observab…
We consider the Maxwell field in the exterior of a Kerr black hole. For this system, we propose a geometric construction of generalized Klein-Gordon equation called Fackerell-Ipser equation. Our model is based on conformal Yano-Kiling tensor (CYK tensor). We present non-standard properties of CYK tensors in the Kerr spacetime which are useful in electrodynamics.
A geometrical invariant for regular asymptotically Euclidean data for the vacuum Einstein field equations is constructed. This invariant vanishes if and only if the data correspond to a slice of the Kerr black hole spacetime --thus, it provides a measure of the non-Kerr-like behavior of generic data. In order to proceed with the construction of the geometric invariant, we introduce the notion of approximate Killing spinors.
Testing the Kerr hypothesis beyond the quadrupole with GW241011
Indian Institute of Technology Madras（印度马德拉斯理工学院）；University of Birmingham（伯明翰大学）；The University of Texas at Austin（得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；Chennai Mathematical Institute（金奈数学研究所）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）
We describe the construction of a geometric invariant characterising initial data for the Kerr-Newman spacetime. This geometric invariant vanishes if and only if the initial data set corresponds to exact Kerr-Newman initial data, and so characterises this type of data. We first illustrate the characterisation of the Kerr-Newman spacetime in terms of Killing spinors. The space spinor formalism is then used to obtain a set of four independent conditions on an initial Cauchy hypersurface that guarantee the existence of a Killing spinor on the development of the initial data. Following a similar a…
We study the strong gravitational lensing on the equatorial plane of a quasi-Kerr compact object with arbitrary quadrupole moments which can be used to model the super-massive central object of the galaxy. We find that, when the quadrupolar correction parameter $ξ$ takes the positive (negative) value, the photon-sphere radius $r_{ps}$, the minimum impact parameter $u_{ps}$, the coefficient $\bar{b}$, the relative magnitudes $r_m$ and the angular position of the relativistic images $θ_{\infty}$ are larger (smaller) than the results obtained in the Kerr black hole, but the coefficient $\bar{a}$,…
Generalising arXiv:1511.08496, we construct further families of compact Einstein-Maxwell instantons associated with the Kerr-Newman metrics with a positive cosmological constant.
Given a compact domain of a 3-dimensional hypersurface on a vacuum spacetime, a scalar (the "non-Kerrness") is constructed by solving a Dirichlet problem for a second order elliptic system. If such scalar vanishes, and a set of conditions are satisfied at a point, then the domain of dependence of the compact domain is isometric to a portion of a member of the Kerr family of solutions to the Einstein field equations. This construction is expected to be of relevance in the analysis of numerical simulations of black hole spacetimes.
There is robust observational evidence supporting the existence of $5 - 20$ $M_\odot$ compact bodies in X-ray binary systems and of $10^5 - 10^9$ $M_\odot$ bodies at the center of many galaxies. All these objects are commonly interpreted as black holes, even is there is no direct evidence that they have an event horizon. A fundamental limit for a black hole in 4-dimensional general relativity is the Kerr bound $|a_*| \le 1$, where $a_*$ is the spin parameter. This is just the condition for the existence of the event horizon. The accretion process can spin a black hole up to $a_* \approx 0.998$…
We apply the analogy between gravitational fields and optical media in the general relativistic geometric optics framework to describe how light can acquire orbital angular momentum (OAM) when it traverses the gravitational field of a massive rotating compact object and the interplay between OAM and polarization. Kerr spacetimes are known not only to impose a gravitational Faraday rotation on the polarization of a light beam, but also to set a characteristic fingerprint in the orbital angular momentum distribution of the radiation passing nearby a rotating black hole (BH). Kerr spacetime behav…
We explore the electromagnetic fields around a quasi-Kerr compact object assuming it is immersed in an external asymptotically uniform magnetic field. Using the Wald method, components of the electromagnetic field in orthonormal basis have been obtained. We explore the charged particle motion around deformed Kerr compact objects in the presence of external asymptotically uniform magnetic fields. Using the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, we obtain the effective potential expression for the charged particle surrounding a quasi-Kerr compact object immersed in an external magnetic field. It is also deri…
A regular rotating MOG (modified gravity) compact object is derived that reduces to the Kerr black hole when the parameter $α=0$. Physical consequences of the dark compact object, which is regular everywhere in spacetime for $α> α_{\rm crit}=0.674$ and is a rotating Kerr-MOG black hole for $α< α_{\rm crit}$ are investigated.
Extreme Black holes are an important theoretical laboratory for exploring the nature of entropy. We suggest that this unusual nature of the extremal limit could explain the entropy of extremal Kerr black holes. The time-independence of the extremal black hole, the zero surface gravity, the zero entropy and the absence of a bifurcate Killing horizon are all related properties that define and reduce to one single unique feature of the extremal Kerr spacetime. We suggest the presence of a true geometric discontinuity as the underlying cause of a vanishing entropy.
We revisit a little known theorem due to Beltrami, through which the integration of the geodesic equations of a curved manifold is accomplished by a method which, even if inspired by the Hamilton-Jacobi method, is purely geometric. The application of this theorem to the Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics leads straightforwardly to the general solution of their geodesic equations. This way of dealing with the problem is, in our opinion, very much in keeping with the geometric spirit of general relativity. In fact, thanks to this theorem we can integrate the geodesic equations by a geometrical metho…
Spherically symmetric static fluid sources are endowed with rotation and embedded in Kerr empty space-time up to an including quadratic terms in an angular velocity parameter using Darmois junction conditions. Einstein's equation's for the system are developed in terms of linear ordinary differential equations. The boundary of the rotating source is expressed explicitly in terms of sinusoidal functions of the polar angle which differ somewhat according to whether an equation of state exists between internal density and supporting pressure.
We formulate conditions on the geometry of a non-expanding horizon $Δ$ which are sufficient for the space-time metric to coincide on $Δ$ with the Kerr metric. We introduce an invariant which can be used as a measure of how different the geometry of a given non-expanding horizon is from the geometry of the Kerr horizon. Directly, our results concern the space-time metric at $\IH$ at the zeroth and the first orders. Combained with the results of Ashtekar, Beetle and Lewandowski, our conditions can be used to compare the space-time geometry at the non-expanding horizon with that of Kerr to every …
In 4-dimensional General Relativity, black holes are described by the Kerr solution and are completely specified by their mass $M$ and by their spin angular momentum $J$. A fundamental limit for a black hole in General Relativity is the Kerr bound $|a_*| \le 1$, where $a_* = J/M^2$ is the spin parameter. Future experiments will be able to probe the geometry around these objects and test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. Interestingly, if these objects are not black holes, the accretion process may spin them up to $a_* > 1$.
Using backwards ray tracing, we study the shadows of Kerr black holes with scalar hair (KBHsSH). KBHsSH interpolate continuously between Kerr BHs and boson stars (BSs), so we start by investigating the lensing of light due to BSs. Moving from the weak to the strong gravity region, BSs - which by themselves have no shadows - are classified, according to the lensing produced, as: $(i)$ non-compact, which yield no multiple images; $(ii)$ compact, which produce an increasing number of Einstein rings and multiple images of the whole celestial sphere; $(iii)$ ultra-compact, which possess light rings…
The second-generation beam combiner at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), GRAVITY, observes the stars orbiting the compact object located at the center of our galaxy, with an unprecedented astrometric accuracy of 10 $μ$as. The nature of this compact source is still unknown since black holes are not the only candidates explaining the four million solar masses at the Galactic center. Boson stars are such an alternative model to black holes. This paper focuses on the study of trajectories of stars orbiting a boson star and a Kerr black hole. We put in light strong differences between orbits obtained…
The inspiral of a stellar mass compact object falling into a massive Kerr black hole can be broken into three different regimes: An adiabatic inspiral phase, where the inspiral timescale is much larger than the orbital period; a late-time radial infall, which can be approximated as a plunging geodesic; and a regime where the body transitions from the inspiral to plunge. In earlier work, Ori and Thorne have outlined a method to compute the trajectory during this transition for a compact object in a circular, equatorial orbit. We generalize this technique to include inclination and eccentricity.
Geometrical properties of the extreme Kerr black holes in the topological sectors of nonextreme and extreme configurations are studied. We find that the Euler characteristic plays an essential role to distinguish these two kinds of extreme black holes. The relationship between the geometrical properties and the intrinsic thermodynamics are investigated.
The thermodynamics of the Kerr-AdS black hole is reformulated within the context of the formalism of geometrothermodynamics (GTD) and the cosmological constant is considered as a new thermodynamical parameter. We conclude that the mass of the black hole corresponds to the total enthalpy of this system. Choosing appropriately the metric in the equilibrium states manifold, we study the phase transitions as a divergence of the thermodynamical curvature scalar. This approach reproduces the Hawking-Page transition and shows that considering the cosmological constant as a thermodynamical parameter d…
In the present work, the spin-coefficient formalism of Newman and Penrose is used to formulate geometric constraints for the existence of Kerr-Schild groups, i.e. continuous groups of generalized Kerr-Schild transformations. In addition, by characterizing the geometric structure of the deformed Einstein tensor of the generalized Kerr-Schild class, restrictions are imposed on the existence of apparent conservation laws in generic spacetimes, which are defined via considering special Kerr-Schild currents whose associated Kerr-Schild vector fields coincide with timelike Killing vector fields of p…
An exact solution of Einstein's field equations in empty space first found in 1985 by Quevedo and Mashhoon is analyzed in detail. This solution generalizes Kerr spacetime to include the case of matter with arbitrary mass quadrupole moment and is specified by three parameters, the mass $M$, the angular momentum per unit mass $a$ and the quadrupole parameter $q$. It reduces to the Kerr spacetime in the limiting case $q=0$ and to the Erez-Rosen spacetime when the specific angular momentum $a$ vanishes. The geometrical properties of such a solution are investigated. Causality violations, direction…
We present the results of three-dimensional general relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of adiabatic and spherically symmetric accretion in Kerr space-time. We consider compact objects with spin parameter $|a_*| \le 1$ (black holes) and with $|a_*| > 1$ (super-spinars). Our full three-dimensional simulations confirm the formation of equatorial outflows for high values of $|a_*|$, as found in our previous work in 2.5 dimensions. We show that the critical value of $|a_*|$ determining the onset of powerful outflows depends mainly on the radius of the compact object. The phenomenon of equatorial…
Gravitational radiation of binary systems can be studied by using the adiabatic approximation in General Relativity. In this approach a small astrophysical object follows a trajectory consisting of a chained series of bounded geodesics (orbits) in the outer region of a Kerr Black Hole, representing the space time created by a bigger object. In our paper we study the entire class of orbits, both of constant radius (spherical orbits), as well as non-null eccentricity orbits, showing a number of properties on the physical parameters and trajectories. The main result is the determination of the ge…
This article contains a detailed and rigorous proof of the construction of a geometric invariant for initial data sets for the Einstein vacuum field equations. This geometric invariant vanishes if and only if the initial data set corresponds to data for the Kerr spacetime, and thus, it characterises this type of data. The construction presented is valid for boosted and non-boosted initial data sets which are, in a sense, asymptotically Schwarzschildean. As a preliminary step to the construction of the geometric invariant, an analysis of a characterisation of the Kerr spacetime in terms of Kill…
Konoplya and Zhidenko have proposed recently a rotating non-Kerr black hole metric beyond General Relativity and make an estimate for the possible deviations from the Kerr solution with the data of GW 150914. We here study the strong gravitational lensing in such a rotating non-Kerr spacetime with an extra deformation parameter. We find that the condition of existence of horizons is not inconsistent with that of the marginally circular photon orbit. Moreover, the deflection angle of the light ray near the weakly naked singularity covered by the marginally circular orbit diverges logarithmicall…
To what extent are all astrophysical, dark, compact objects both black holes (BHs) and described by the Kerr geometry? We embark on the exercise of defying the universality of this remarkable idea, often called the "Kerr hypothesis". After establishing its rationale and timeliness, we define a minimal set of reasonability criteria for alternative models of dark compact objects. Then, as proof of principle, we discuss concrete, dynamically robust non-Kerr BHs and horizonless imitators, that 1) pass the basic theoretical, and in particular dynamical, tests, 2) match (some of the) state of the ar…
We study the strong gravitational lensing in the background of a rotating non-Kerr compact object with a deformed parameter $ε$ and an unbound rotation parameter $a$. We find that the photon sphere radius and the deflection angle depend sharply on the parameters $ε$ and $a$. For the case in which the black hole is more prolate than a Kerr black hole, the photon sphere exists only in the regime $ε\leqε_{max}$ for prograde photon. The upper limit $ε_{max}$ is a function of the rotation parameter $a$. As $ε>ε_{max}$, the deflection angle of the light ray closing very to the naked singularity is a…
It is well-known that there is a geometric correspondence between high-frequency quasi-normal modes (QNMs) and null geodesics (spherical photon orbits). In this paper, we generalize such correspondence to charged scalar field in Kerr-Newman space-time. In our case, the particle and black hole are all charged, so one should consider non-geodesic orbits. Using the WKB approximation, we find that the real part of quasi-normal frequency corresponds to the orbits frequency, the imaginary part of the frequency corresponds to the Lyapunov exponent of these orbits and the eigenvalue of angular equatio…
The properties of the ergosphere and energy extraction by Penrose process in a rotating non-Kerr black hole are investigated. It is shown that the ergosphere is sensitive to the deformation parameter $ε$ and the shape of the ergosphere becomes thick with increase of the parameter $ε$. It is of interest to note that, comparing with the Kerr black hole, the deformation parameter $ε$ can enhance the maximum efficiency of the energy extraction process greatly. Especially, for the case of $a>M$, the non-Kerr metric describes a superspinning compact object and the maximum efficiency can exceed 60%, …
In theories of gravity where the cosmological constant defines a thermodynamic variable, the pressure, it has been shown that solutions of Einstein's equations have a corresponding thermodynamic volume. In general, the expression for the volume is not the same as the one arising from naive geometrical considerations. Both rotation and nut charge are properties known in the literature to give non-geometric thermodynamic volumes, and so we combine the two in a single example and compute the volume for the Kerr-bolt-AdS spacetime, presenting a new expression that generalizes the previously known …
We describe the hyperboloidal compactification for Teukolsky equations in Kerr spacetime. We include null infinity on the numerical grid by attaching a hyperboloidal layer to a compact domain surrounding the rotating black hole and the orbit of an inspiralling point particle. This technique allows us to study, for the first time, gravitational waveforms from large- and extreme-mass-ratio inspirals in Kerr spacetime extracted at null infinity. Tests and comparisons of our results with previous calculations establish the accuracy and efficiency of the hyperboloidal layer method.
There is a well-known, intuitive geometric correspondence between high-frequency QNMs of Schwarzschild black holes and null geodesics that reside on the light-ring : the real part of the mode's frequency relates to the geodesic's orbital frequency, and the imaginary part of the frequency corresponds to the Lyapunov exponent of the orbit. For slowly rotating black holes, the QNM real frequency is a linear combination of a the orbit's precessional and orbital frequencies, but the correspondence is otherwise unchanged. In this paper, we find a relationship between the QNM frequencies of Kerr blac…
Viable alternatives to astrophysical black holes include hyper-compact objects without horizon, such as gravastars, boson stars, wormholes and superspinars. The authors have recently shown that typical rapidly-spinning gravastars and boson stars develop a strong instability. That analysis is extended in this paper to a wide class of horizonless objects with approximate Kerr-like geometry. A detailed investigation of wormholes and superspinars is presented, using plausible models and mirror boundary conditions at the surface. Like gravastars and boson stars, these objects are unstable with very…
As a first step towards the calculation of waveform of Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals for Modified Gravity theories, we calculate the orbital frequencies of a Small Compact Object inspiralling into a super massive blackhole for a Nonlocal gravity model. The small compact object moves along an orbit which can be approximated to a geodesic of the background spacetime due to large mass ratio of central blackhole to Small Compact Object. In General Relativity, the fundamental orbital frequencies $Ω_r,\;Ω_θ$ and $Ω_ϕ$ can be calculated by solving geodesic equations of the Kerr metric. If we formulate…
We explicitly solve the equations for the propagation of an electromagnetic wave up to the subleading order geometric optics expansion in the Kerr spacetime. This is done in two nontrivial steps. We first construct a set of parallel propagated null tetrad in Kerr spacetime. Two of the components of such tetrad give the propagation and polarization of an electromagnetic wave in geometric optics approximation. Then we use the parallel propagated tetrad to solve the modified trajectory equation in Kerr spacetime. We obtain the wavelength-dependent deviation of the trajectory of electromagnetic wa…
Linear perturbation of general relativistic accretion of low angular momentum hydrodynamic fluid onto a Kerr black hole leads to the formation of curved acoustic geometry embedded within the background flow. Characteristic features of such sonic geometry depend on the black hole spin. Such dependence can be probed by studying the correlation of the acoustic surface gravity $κ$ with the Kerr parameter $a$. The $κ- a$ relationship further gets influenced by the geometric configuration of the accretion flow structure. In this work, such influence has been studied for multitransonic shocked accret…
The precession angular velocity of a gyroscope moving along a general geodesic in the Kerr spacetime is analyzed using the geometric properties of the spacetime. Natural frames along the gyroscope world line are explicitly constructed by boosting frames adapted to fundamental observers. A novel geometrical description is given to Marck's construction of a parallel propagated orthonormal frame along a general geodesic, identifying and clarifying the special role played by the Carter family of observers in this general context, thus extending previous discussion for the equatorial plane case.
The construction of a generic parametrization to describe the spacetime geometry around astrophysical black hole candidates is an important step to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In the last few years, the Johannsen-Psaltis metric has been the most common framework to study possible deviations from the Kerr solution with present and near future observations. Recently, Cardoso, Pani and Rico have proposed a more general parametrization. The aim of the present paper is to study this new metric in a specific context, namely the thermal spectrum of geometrically thin and optically thick accr…
Recently, in arXiv:1110.0832, we have established that solutions of Einstein's gravity admitting foliations with a certain geometric condition are also solutions of n-DBI gravity, arXiv:1109.1468. Here we observe that, in vacuum, the required geometric condition is fulfilled by the well known maximal slicing, often used in numerical relativity. As a corollary, we establish that the Kerr geometry is a solution of n-DBI gravity in the foliation adapted to Boyer-Lindquist coordinates.
The LIGO/Virgo detections of binary black hole mergers marked a watershed moment in astronomy, ushering in the era of precision tests of Kerr dynamics. We review theoretical and experimental challenges that must be overcome to carry out black hole spectroscopy with present and future gravitational wave detectors. Among other topics, we discuss quasinormal mode excitation in binary mergers, astrophysical event rates, tests of black hole dynamics in modified theories of gravity, parameterized "post-Kerr" ringdown tests, exotic compact objects, and proposed data analysis methods to improve spectr…
We revisit a non-perturbative space-time curvature theory, underlying a two form U(1) gauge dynamics, on a D4-brane. In particular, two different gauge choices for a two form are explored underlying the dynamics of a geometric torsion in a second order formalism. We obtain two non-extremal quantum Kerr geometries in five dimensions on a pair of $(D{\bar D})_4$-brane in a type IIA superstring theory. The quantum vacua are described by a vanishing torsion in a gauge choice, underlying a geometric realization, on a non-BPS brane. It is argued that the quantum Kerr vacua undergo tunneling and lead…
Gaussian curvature of the two-surface r=0, t=const is calculated for the Kerr-de Sitter and Kerr-Newman-de Sitter solutions, yielding non-zero analytical expressions for both the cases. The results obtained, on the one hand, exclude the possibility for that surface to be a disk and, on the other hand, permit one to establish a correct geometrical interpretation of that surface for each of the two solutions.
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity, but the actual nature of these objects has still to be proven. The analysis of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk around a black hole candidate can provide information about the geometry of the space-time around the compact object and it can thus test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, I present a code based on a ray-tracing approach and capable of computing some basic properties of thin accretion disks in space-ti…
We have studied numerically the shadows of a non-Kerr rotating compact object with quadrupole mass moment, which belongs to Manko-Novikov family. The non-integrable photon motion caused by quadrupole mass moment affects sharply the shadow of the compact object. As the deviation parameter related to quadrupole mass moment is negative, the shadow of compact object is prolate and there are two disconnected main shadows with eyebrows located symmetrically on both sides of the equatorial plane. As the deviation parameter is positive, the shadow becomes oblate and the main shadow is joined together …
General relativity makes clear predictions about the spacetime geometry around black holes. In the near future, new facilities will have the capability to explore the metric around SgrA$^*$, the supermassive black hole candidate at the Center of our Galaxy, and open a new window to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, we compute light curves and images associated with compact emission regions (hot spots) orbiting around Kerr and non-Kerr black holes. We study how the analysis of the properties of the radiation emitted by a hot spot can be used to test the Kerr nature of SgrA$^*$…
An outstanding prediction of general relativity is the fact that the angular momentum $S$ of an isolated black hole with mass $μ$ is limited by the Kerr bound, $S\leq Gμ^2/c$. Testing this cornerstone is challenging due to the difficulty in modelling spinning compact objects that violate this bound. We argue that precise, model-independent tests can be achieved by measuring gravitational waves from an extreme mass ratio inspiral around a supermassive object, one of the main targets of the future LISA mission. In the extreme mass ratio limit, the dynamics of the small compact object depends onl…
The Dirac equation governs the behaviour of spin-1/2 particles. The equation's separability into decoupled radial and angular differential equations is a crucial step in analytical and numerical computations of quantities like eigenvalues, quasinormal modes and bound states. However, this separation has been performed in co-ordinate systems that are not well-behaved in either limiting regions of $r \rightarrow r_{horizon}$, $r \rightarrow r_\infty$ or both. In particular, the extensively used Boyer-Lindquist co-ordinates contains unphysical features of spacetime geometry for both $r_{horizon}$…
We investigate the properties of the ergoregion and the location of the curvature singularities for the Kerr black hole distorted by the gravitational field of external sources. The particular cases of quadrupole and octupole distortion are studied in detail. We also investigate the scalar curvature invariants of the horizon and compare their behaviour with the case of the isolated Kerr black hole. In a certain region of the parameter space the ergoregion consists of a compact region encompassing the horizon and a disconnected part extending to infinity. The curvature singularities in the doma…
