One crucial problem in relativistic astrophysics is that of the nature of black hole candidates. It is usually assumed that astrophysical black holes are described by the Schwarzschild or Kerr space-times; however, there is no direct evidence to assert this. Moreover, there are various solutions in general relativity that can be alternatives to black holes, usually called black hole mimickers. In this work, we study the shadow produced by a compact object described by the q-metric, which is the simplest static and axially symmetric solution of Einstein equations with a non-vanishing quadrupole moment. This particular spacetime has the property of containing an independent parameter $q$, which is related to the compact object deformation. The solution corresponds to naked singularities for some specific values of this parameter. Additionally, we analyze the eigenvalues of the Riemann tensor using the $SO(3,C)$ representation, which allows us to find, in an invariant way, regions where there may be repulsive effects. Furthermore, we numerically solve the motion equations to show the shadow, the Einstein ring, and the gravitational lensing to establish a possible signature of such repulsive effects. We found that as $q$ is smaller, the Einstein ring decreases, but the shape is the same as the Schwarzschild black hole case. However, for values of $q$ lower or equal than $-0.5$, repulsive gravitational effects appear in the gravitational lensing close to the compact object, where a strong dependence of the system to the initial conditions seems to take place.
Cosmic expansion influences the angular size of black hole shadow. The most general way to describe a black hole embedded into an expanding universe is to use the McVittie metric. So far, the exact analytical solution for the shadow size in the McVittie metric, valid for arbitrary law of expansion and arbitrary position of the observer, has not been found. In this paper, we present the first analytical solution for angular size of black hole shadow in McVittie metric as seen by observer comoving with the cosmic expansion. We use a method of matched asymptotic expansions to find approximate sol…
The motion of photons around black holes determines the shape of shadow and match the ringdown properties of a perturbed black hole. Observations of shadows and ringdown waveforms will reveal the nature of black holes. In this paper, we study the motion of photons in a general parametrized metric beyond the Kerr hypothesis. We investigated the radius and frequency of the photon circular orbits on the equatorial plane and obtained fitted formula with varied parameters. The Lyapunov exponent which connects to the decay rate of the ringdown amplitude is also calculated. We also analyzed the shape…
Shadows cast by the rotating black hole in perfect fluid matter are studied using analytical method. We consider three kinds of matter with standard equation of state in Cosmology: $-1/3$ (dark matter), 0 (dust) and $1/3$ (radiation). The apparent shape of the shadow depends on the black hole spin $a$ and the perfect fluid matter intensity $k$. We find that the shadow is a perfect circle in the non-rotating case ($a=0$) and a distorted one in the rotating case ($a\neq0$), similar to what is found for other black holes. Interestingly, different kinds of matter have different influence on the bl…
In this paper we derive exact analytical formulas for the evolution of the photon sphere and for the angular radius of the shadow in a special Vaidya spacetime. The Vaidya metric describes a spherically symmetric object that gains or loses mass, depending on a mass function $m(v)$ that can be freely chosen. Here we consider the case that $m(v)$ is a linearly increasing or decreasing function. The first case can serve as a simple model for an accreting black hole, the second case for a (Hawking) radiating black hole. With a linear mass function the Vaidya metric admits a conformal Killing vecto…
In an earlier paper we have analytically determined the photon regions and the shadows of black holes of the Plebański class of metrics which are also known as the Kerr--Newman--NUT--(anti-)deSitter metrics. These metrics are characterized by six parameters: mass, spin, electric and magnetic charge, gravitomagnetic NUT charge, and the cosmological constant. Here we extend this analysis to the Plebański--Demiański class of metrics which contains, in addition to these six parameters, the so-called acceleration parameter. All these metrics are axially symmetric and stationary type D solutions to …
We revisit the shadows of rotating braneworld black holes in the Randall-Sundrum type II model, by considering not only the metric in the near region of the black hole but also the linearized metric in the far region where the observer stays. Our study is significantly different from previous studies, which relies only on the metric in the near region. From the study, we identify a critical angle $θ_c$ which decides the shadow curve is open or closed: the shadow curve would be open if the observational angle $θ_c<θ_o\leπ/2$, and the curve becomes closed when $0<θ_o\leθ_c$. We study how various…
Constrain from shadows of $M87^*$ and $Sgr A^*$ and quasiperiodic oscillations of galactic microquasars on a black hole arising from metric-affine bumblebee model
We construct theoretical investigation of the black hole shadow for rotating charged black hole in an asymptotically flat, axisymmetric, and stationary spacetime with Weyl corrections. This spacetime is characterized by mass ($M$), charge parameter ($q$), rotation parameter ($a$), and Weyl coupling constant ($α$). We derive photon geodesics around the black hole and compute expressions for impact parameters with the help of photon spherical orbits conditions. We show how the presence of coupling constant $α$ affects the shapes of black hole shadow from the usual Kerr-Newman black hole. A compa…
Geometrothermodynamics of Black Hole Shadows: A Review
Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México（墨西哥国立自治大学核科学研究所）；Dipartimento di Fisica and ICRA, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”（罗马第一大学物理系及ICRA）；Al-Farabi Kazakh National University（阿尔法拉比哈萨克国立大学）
The $γ$-metric is a static, axially-symmetric singular solution of the vacuum Einstein's equations without an event horizon. This is a two-parameter family of solutions, generic values of one of which (called $γ$) measure the deviation from spherical symmetry. Here, we first study the shadow cast by this geometry, in order to constrain the $γ$-metric from observations. We find that for $γ< 1/2$, there are, in principle, no shadows cast. On the other hand, shadows cast for all values of $γ\geq 1/2$ are consistent with observations of M$87^*$ by the Event Horizon Telescope. We also study images …
A First-Order Eikonal Framework for Quasinormal Modes, Shadows, Strong Lensing, and Grey-Body Factors in a Scalarized Black-Hole Metric
University of Hradec Králové（赫拉德茨克拉洛韦大学）；National University of Uzbekistan（乌兹别克斯坦国立大学）；University of Tashkent for Applied Sciences（塔什干应用科学大学）；Tashkent State Technical University（塔什干国立技术大学）；New Uzbekistan University（新乌兹别克斯坦大学）；Tashkent International University of Education（塔什干国际教育大学）；Kimyo International University in Tashkent（塔什干基莫国际大学）；Mamun University（马蒙大学）
Here we construct approximate analytical forms for the metric coefficients and fields representing the scalarized Einstein-Maxwell black holes with various couplings of the scalar field, once the parameters of the system are fixed. By increasing approximation order, one can obtain the analytic representation with any desired accuracy, what was tested via calculations of shadows for these black holes by using approximate analytical and accurate numerical metric functions. We share the Mathematica code which allows one to find an appropriate analytical form of the metric for any couplings and va…
Gravitational lensing and black hole shadows are one of the strongest observational evidences to prove the existence of black holes in the universe. The gravitational lensing arises due to the deflection of light by the gravitational field of a gravitating body such as a black hole. Investigation of the shadow cast by a compact object as well as deflection of light around it may provide the useful information about physical nature of the particular compact object and other related aspects. In this paper, we study the deflection of light by a dual charged stringy black hole spacetime derived in…
A photon sphere is known as the geometrical structure shaping a black hole shadow. The mechanism is well understood for static or stationary black hole spacetimes such as the Schwarzschild and the Kerr spacetimes. In this paper, we investigate and explicitly specify a photon sphere that shapes a black hole shadow in a dynamical spacetime while taking the global structure of the spacetime into account. We consider dynamical and eternal black hole cases of the Vaidya spacetime, which represents a spherically symmetric black hole with accreting null dust. First, we numerically show that there are…
It is now known that, apart from black holes, some naked singularities can also cast shadows which provide their possible observable signatures. We examine the relevant question here as to how to distinguish then these entities from each other, in terms of further physical signatures. We point out that black holes always admit timelike bound orbits having positive perihelion precession. Also, while a naked singularity with a photon sphere can cast a shadow, it could also admit positive perihelion precession for such orbits, thereby mimicking a black hole. This indicates that compact objects wi…
It is widely believed that the curvature singularities are an artifact of general relativity and may not exist in the Universe, and likely to be defined by the quantum gravity. In the absence of successful quantum gravity, significant attention has been shifted towards the regular models. We present a five-dimensional ($5D$) rotating regular Myers-Perry like black hole metric with two rotation parameters ($a,b$) and a free parameter ($k$). Our $5D$ rotating regular metric encompasses $5D$ Myers-Perry black hole which can be recovered as a special case when $k=0$. The size of the shadow cast by…
Since the full General Theory of Relativity has been unveiled to the scientific community in 1915, many solutions to the vacuum Einstein field equations have been found and studied. This paper aims at documenting exhaustively the derivation of the shape of the patch of the sky that is left completely black by a spinning black hole described by the Kerr solutions in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates. This dark zone in the observer's sky is called the black hole shadow. Conserved quantities which allow for the analysis of particle orbits are first introduced, with the help of which the trajectories of…
We study the shadow of the Cardoso-Pani-Rico (CPR) black hole for different values of the black hole spin $a_*$, the deformation parameters $ε_3^t$ and $ε_3^r$, and the viewing angle $i$. We find that the main impact of the deformation parameter $ε_3^t$ is the change of the size of the shadow, while the deformation parameter $ε_3^r$ affects the shape of its boundary. In general, it is impossible to test the Kerr metric, because the shadow of a Kerr black hole can be reproduced quite well by a black hole with non-vanishing $ε_3^t$ or $ε_3^r$. Deviations from the Kerr geometry could be constrain…
Can the observation of the "shadow" allow us to distinguish a black hole from a more exotic compact object? We study the motion of photons in a class of vacuum static axially-symmetric space-times that is continuously linked to the Schwarzschild metric through the value of one parameter that can be interpreted as a measure of the deformation of the source. We investigate the lensing effect and shadow produced by the source with the aim of comparing the expected image with the shadow of a Schwarzschild black hole. In the context of astrophysical black holes we found that it may not be possible …
We consider a black hole mimicker given by an exact solution of the stationary and axially symmetric field equations in vacuum known as the $δ$-Kerr metric. We study its optical properties based on a ray-tracing code for photon motion and characterize the apparent shape of the shadow of the compact object and compare it with the Kerr black hole. For the purpose of obtaining qualitative estimates related to the observed shadow of the supermassive compact object in the galaxy M87 we focus on values of the object's spin $a$ and inclination angle of observation $θ_0$ close to the measured values. …
It is now theoretically well established that not only a black hole can cast shadow, but other compact objects such as naked singularities, gravastar or boson stars can also cast shadows. An intriguing fact that has emerged is that the event horizon and the photon sphere are not necessary for a shadow to form. Now, when two different types of equally massive compact objects cast shadows of same size, then it would be very difficult to distinguish them from each other. However, the nature of the nulllike and timelike geodesics around the two compact objects would be different, since their space…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is taking the first images of black holes resolved at horizon scales to measure their shadows and probe accretion physics. A promising avenue for testing the hypothesis that astrophysical black holes are described by the Kerr solution to Einstein's equations is to compare the size and shape of the shadow a black hole casts on the surrounding emission to the predictions of the Kerr metric. We develop here an efficient parametric framework to perform this test. We carry out ray-tracing simulations for several parametrized non-Kerr metrics to create a large data …
Metric of axially symmetric asymptotically flat black holes in an arbitrary metric theory of gravity can be represented in the general form which depends on infinite number of parameters. We constrain this general class of metrics by requiring the existence of additional symmetries, which lead to the separation of variables in the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations, and show that once the metric functions change sufficiently moderately in some region near the black hole, the black-hole shadow depends on a few deformation parameters only. We analyze the influence of these parameters on …
The Chern-Simons modification to general relativity in four dimensions consists of adding to the Einstein-Hilbert term a scalar field that couples to the first class Pontryagin density. In this theory, which has attracted considerable attention recently, the Schwarzschild metric persists as an exact solution, and this is why this model resists several observational constraints. In contrast, the spinning black hole solution of the theory is not given by the Kerr metric but by a modification of it, so far only known for slow rotation and small coupling constant. In the present paper, we show tha…
Within 5-10 years, submillimeter VLBI facilities will be hopefully able to image the "shadow" of SgrA$^*$. When a black hole is surrounded by an optically thin emitting medium, the boundary of the shadow corresponds to the apparent photon capture sphere and only depends on the background metric. An accurate determination of the shape of the shadow of SgrA$^*$ could constrain possible deviations from the Kerr solution. In combination with other measurements, these observations could test the Kerr black hole paradigm.
The unprecedented image of the M87* supermassive black hole has sparked some controversy over its usefulness as a test of the general relativistic Kerr metric. The criticism is mainly related to the black hole's quasi-circular shadow and advocates that its radius depends not only on the black hole's true spacetime properties but also on the poorly known physics of the illuminating accretion flow. In this paper we take a sober view of the problem and argue that our ability to probe gravity with a black hole shadow is only partially impaired by the matter degrees of freedom and the number of non…
The study of shadow is quite prominent nowadays because of the ongoing Event Horizon Telescope\footnote{https://eventhorizontelescope.org/} observations. We construct the shadow images of charged wormholes in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMD) theory. The spacetime metric of the charged wormholes contains three charges: magnetic charge $P$, electric charge $Q$, and dilaton charge $Σ$. We evaluate the photon geodesics around the charged wormholes. We also calculate the effective potential and discuss its behavior with angular momentum $L$ and different values of charges $P$, $Q$, and $Σ$. A study o…
We consider the following question: may two different black holes (BHs) cast exactly the same shadow? In spherical symmetry, we show the necessary and sufficient condition for a static BH to be shadow-degenerate with Schwarzschild is that the dominant photonsphere of both has the same impact parameter, when corrected for the (potentially) different redshift of comparable observers in the different spacetimes. Such shadow-degenerate geometries are classified into two classes. The first shadow-equivalent class contains metrics whose constant (areal) radius hypersurfaces are isometric to those of…
Black hole shadows in nonminimally coupled Weyl connection gravity
Universidade dos Açores（亚速尔群岛大学）；Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e do Porto（米尼奥与波尔图大学物理中心）；Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa（里斯本大学高等技术学院）；Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa（里斯本大学理学院空间天体物理与空间科学研究所）
We study the shadow cast by rotating black holes surrounded by plasma in the context of the 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity. The metric for these black holes results from applying the Newman-Janis algorithm to a spherically symmetric solution. We obtain the contour of the shadow for a plasma frequency model that allows a separable Hamilton-Jacobi equation. We introduce three observables in order to characterize the position, size, and shape of the shadow.
In a recent work PRD 106, L021501 (2022), a new geometric approach is proposed to obtain the photon sphere (circular photon orbit) and the black hole shadow radius. In this approach, photon spheres and the black hole shadow radius are determined using geodesic curvature and Gaussian curvature in the optical geometry of black hole spacetimes. However, the calculations in PRD 106, L021501 (2022) only restricted to a subclass of static and spherically symmetric black holes with spacetime metric $g_{tt} \cdot g_{rr}=-1$, $g_{θθ}=r^{2}$ and $g_{ϕϕ}=r^{2}\sin^{2}θ$. In this work, we extend this appr…
The general parametrization for spacetimes of spherically symmetric Lorentzian, traversable wormholes in an arbitrary metric theory of gravity is presented. The parametrization is similar in spirit to the post-Newtonian parametrized formalism, but with validity that extends beyond the weak field region and covers the whole space. Our method is based on a continued-fraction expansion in terms of a compactified radial coordinate. Calculations of shadows and quasinormal modes for various examples of parametrization of known wormhole metrics that we have performed show that, for most cases, the pa…
A certain type of matter with anisotropic pressures can add to the Reissner-Nordström metric a term proportional to a power of the radial coordinate. Using the standard method of separating variables for the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, we study the shadow of the corresponding rotating solution, obtained through the Newman-Janis algorithm. We define and calculate three observables in order to characterize the position, size and shape of the shadow.
The properties of light rays around compact objects surrounded by a plasma are affected by both strong gravitational fields described by a general-relativistic spacetime and by a dispersive and refractive medium, characterized by the density distribution of the plasma. We study these effects employing the relativistic Hamiltonian formalism under the assumption of stationarity and axisymmetry. The necessary and sufficient conditions on the metric and on the plasma frequency are formulated, such that the rays can be analytically determined from a fully separated Hamilton-Jacobi equation. We demo…
In this article, we study the particle dynamics around a static and spherically symmetric Bardeen-Kiselev black hole (BK BH) which is a solution of the Einstein-non-linear Maxwell field equations along with a quintessential field. We discuss its essential geometrical properties such as scalar invariants and size of innermost stable circular orbits. Dynamics of test particles around the BH is also studied. Moreover, we also computed the fundamental frequencies of a test particle orbiting the BH in a slightly perturbed orbit. Further, the degeneracy relations between the spin of rotating Kerr BH…
When the the shadow image of a supermassive black hole in the center of M87 was obtained a new era in the observational astrophysics began. The resolution improvement would allow to test extended gravity models at event horizon scales. We develop the method allowing to take into account the black hole rotation in black hole shadow modelling. It is demonstrated that the shadow of a black hole with a diameter smaller than $4R_{Sw}$ ($R_{Sw} = 2M$) cannot be represented in the terms of pure Kerr-Newman metric. Therefore, the detection of a shadow of such size would indicate that further expansion…
We consider a simple spherical model consisting of a Schwarzschild black hole of mass $M$ and a dark matter of mass $ΔM$ around it. The general formula for the radius of black-hole shadow has been derived in this case. It is shown that the change of the shadow is not negligible, once the effective radius of the dark matter halo is of order $\sim \sqrt{3 M ΔM}$. For this to happen, for example, for the galactic black hole, the dark matter must be concentrated near the black hole. For small deviations from the Schwarzschild limit, the dominant contribution into the size of a shadow is due to the…
