The spin of a black hole is an important quantity to study, providing a window into the processes by which a black hole was born and grew. Further, spin can be a potent energy source for powering relativistic jets and energetic particle acceleration. In this review, I describe the techniques currently used to detect and measure the spins of black holes. It is shown that: (1) Two well understood techniques, X-ray reflection spectroscopy and thermal continuum fitting, can be used to measure the spins of black holes that are accreting at moderate rates. There is a rich set of other electromagnetic techniques allowing us to extend spin measurements to lower accretion rates. (2) Many accreting supermassive black holes are found to be rapidly-spinning, although a population of more slowly spinning black holes emerges at masses above $M>3\times 10^7\,M_\odot$ as expected from recent structure formation models. (3) Many accreting stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binary systems are rapidly spinning and must have been born in this state. (4) The advent of gravitational wave astronomy has enabled the detection of spin effects in merging binary black holes. Most of the pre-merger black holes are found to be slowly spinning, a notable exception being an object that may itself be a merger product. (5) The stark difference in spins between the black hole X-ray binary and the binary black hole populations shows that there is a diversity of formation mechanisms. Given the array of new electromagnetic and gravitational wave capabilities currently being planned, the future of black hole spin studies is bright.
In this chapter, we review the current observational status of the first supermassive black holes. It is clear that such a review can hardly be complete, due to the wealth of surveys that has been pursued, including different wavelengths and different observational techniques. This chapter will focus on the main results that have been obtained, considering the detections of z~6 supermassive black holes in large surveys such as SDSS, CFHQS and Pan-STARRS. In addition, we will discuss upper limits and constraints on the population of the first black holes that can be derived from observational d…
Gravitationally bound supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) are thought to be a natural product of galactic mergers and growth of the large scale structure in the universe. They however remain observationally elusive, thus raising a question about characteristic observational signatures associated with these systems. In this conference proceeding I discuss current theoretical understanding and latest advances and prospects in observational searches for SBHBs.
We show that the 5-GHz radio flux of transient ballistic jets in black hole binaries correlates with the dimensionless black hole spin parameter a* estimated via the continuum-fitting method. The data suggest that jet power scales either as the square of a* or the square of the angular velocity of the horizon. This is the first direct evidence that jets may be powered by black hole spin energy. The observed correlation validates the continuum-fitting method of measuring spin. In addition, for those black holes that have well-sampled radio observations of ballistic jets, the correlation may be …
Black holes have the peculiar and intriguing property of having an event horizon, a one-way membrane causally separating their internal region from the rest of the Universe. Today astrophysical observations provide some evidence for the existence of event horizons in astrophysical black hole candidates. In this short paper, I compare the constraint we can infer from the non-observation of electromagnetic radiation from the putative surface of these objects with the bound coming from the ergoregion instability, pointing out the respective assumptions and limitations.
Observational constraints on the birth and early evolution of massive black holes (BHs) come from two extreme regimes. At high redshift, quasars signal the rapid growth of billion-solar-mass BHs and indicate that these objects began remarkably heavy and/or accreted mass at rates above the Eddington limit. At low redshift, the smallest nuclear BHs known are found in dwarf galaxies and provide the most concrete limits on the mass of BH seeds. Here we review current observational work in these fields that together are critical for our understanding of the origin of massive BHs in the Universe.
Recent gamma-ray and cosmic-ray observations have put strong constraints on the amount of primordial black holes (PBHs) in our universe. In this article, we use the archival radio data of the inner Galactic Centre to constrain the PBH to dark matter ratio for three different PBH mass distributions including monochromatic, log-normal and power-law. We show that the amount of PBHs only constitutes a very minor component of dark matter at the Galactic Centre for a large parameter space.
A model for determining the dimensionless spin parameter and mass of the black hole remnant of black hole-neutron star mergers with arbitrary initial black hole spin angular momentum, binary mass ratio, and neutron star mass and cold equation of state is formulated. Tests against numerical-relativity results are carried out, showing that both the dimensionless spin parameter and the final mass are accurately reproduced. For the first time, the behaviour of both quantities and of the l = 2, m = 2, n = 0 quasinormal mode frequency is inspected throughout the parameter space. Predictions of this …
Gravitational-wave detections of black hole mergers in binary systems offer an excellent opportunity to test the 2nd law of black hole thermodynamics. In this paper, we review how the entropy of any astrophysical black hole is calculated and we use LIGO and VIRGO's mass and spin data measurements from black hole merger events detected over the past years to perform entropy calculations and numerically test the generalized 2nd law of thermodynamics. Besides, we analyze the mathematical correlation between the black hole merger event's initial parameters to prove and conclude that the theorem wi…
We study the observational signatures of magnetically arrested black hole accretion with non-rotating inflow onto a rotating black hole; we consider a range of angles between the black hole spin and the initial magnetic field orientation. We compare the results of our General Relativistic Magneto-Hydrodynamic simulations to more commonly used rotating initial conditions and to the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of M87. We find that the mm intensity images, polarization images, and synchrotron emission spectra are very similar among the different simulations when post-processed with…
We propose the simple new method for extracting the value of the black hole spin from the direct high-resolution image of black hole by using a thin accretion disk model. In this model the observed dark region on the first image of the supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87, obtained by the Event Horizon Telescope, is a silhouette of the black hole event horizon. The outline of this silhouette is the equator of the event horizon sphere. The dark silhouette of the black hole event horizon is placed within the expected position of the black hole shadow, which is not revealed on the first imag…
The mass of a black hole is the sum of the irreducible mass and the mass associated with the rotational or spin energy of the black hole. The contribution of spin energy (divided by $c^2$) to the total black hole mass is studied here for four samples of sources including 576 LINERs, 100 classical double radio sources, 80 relatively local AGN, and 102 measurements of four stellar mass X-ray binary systems. The spin mass-energy of a black hole may be extracted causing the mass of the black hole to decrease. The ratio of spin mass-energy to black hole mass ranges from about ten to thirty percent …
We consider the spherically symmetric black hole solution of the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model. This asymptotically-Schwarzschild solution was found by Abdolrahimi, Cation, Page and Yaghoobpour-Tari (ACPY-solution). We investigate the specific properties of the accretion disk around ACPY black hole having astrophysical size and mass. The energy flux and temperature distribution are obtained and compared with the Schwarzschild ones. We also present the spectral energy distribution of the accretion disk around RS black holes, when the transfer function is taken into account. Thus we confirm a full …
Black holes in general relativity are characterized by their trapping horizon, a one-way membrane that can be crossed only inwards. The existence of trapping horizons in astrophysical black holes can be tested observationally using a reductio ad absurdum argument, replacing black holes by horizonless configurations with a physical surface and looking for inconsistencies with electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations. In this approach, the radius of the horizonless object is always larger than but arbitrarily close to the position where the horizon of a black hole of the same mass wou…
In this work, we consider two recently introduced novel regular black hole solutions and investigate the circular null geodesics to find the connection between the photon sphere, the horizon and the black hole shadow radii. We also study the energy emission rate for these solutions and discuss how the parameters of models affect the emission of particles around the black holes. Furthermore, we compare the resulting shadow of these regular black holes with observational data of the Event Horizon Telescope and find the allowed regions of the model parameters for which the obtained shadow is cons…
We present a model for determining the dimensionless spin parameter and mass of the black hole remnant of black hole-neutron star mergers with parallel orbital angular momentum and initial black hole spin. This approach is based on the Buonanno, Kidder, and Lehner method for binary black holes, and it is successfully tested against the results of numerical-relativity simulations: the dimensionless spin parameter is predicted with absolute error $\lesssim 0.02$, whereas the relative error on the final mass is $\lesssim 2$%, its distribution in the tests being pronouncedly peaked at $1$%. Our ap…
We investigate the possibility of arbitrarily high energy in the center of mass(CM) frame of colliding particles in the vicinity of the infinite red-shift surface of the spherically symmetric, static charged regular black holes (Bardeen black hole, Ayón-Beato and García black hole, and Hayward black hole). We show that the CM energy of colliding particles near the infinite red-shift surface of the \emph{extreme} regular black holes are arbitrarily large while the non-extreme regular black holes have the finite energy. We also compute the equation of innermost stable circular orbit(ISCO), margi…
In General Relativity, the spacetimes of black holes have three fundamental properties: (i) they are the same, to lowest order in spin, as the metrics of stellar objects; (ii) they are independent of mass, when expressed in geometric units; and (iii) they are described by the Kerr metric. In this paper, we quantify the upper bounds on potential black-hole metric deviations imposed by observations of black-hole shadows and of binary black-hole inspirals in order to explore the current experimental limits on possible violations of the last two predictions. We find that both types of experiments …
A population of more than 50 binary black hole mergers has now been observed by the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave observatories. While neutron stars are known to have large velocities associated with impulsive kicks imparted to them at birth in supernovae, whether black holes receive similar kicks, and of what magnitude, remains an open question. Recently, Callister et al. (2021) analysed the binary black hole population under the hypothesis that they were all formed through isolated binary evolution and claimed that large black hole kicks (greater than 260 km/s at 99% confidence) were req…
Using exclusively the 777 full numerical waveforms of the third Binary Black Holes RIT catalog, we reanalyze the ten black hole merger signals reported in LIGO/Virgo's O1/O2 observation runs. We obtain binary parameters, extrinsic parameters, and the remnant properties of these gravitational waves events which are consistent with, but not identical to previously presented results. We have also analyzed three additional events (GW170121, GW170304, GW170727) reported in Venumadhav et al. 2019, and found closely matching parameters. We finally assess the accuracy of our waveforms with convergence…
General relativistic simulations of black hole-neutron star mergers have currently been limited to low-mass black holes (less than 7 solar mass), even though population synthesis models indicate that a majority of mergers might involve more massive black holes (10 solar mass or more). We present the first general relativistic simulations of black hole-neutron star mergers with 10 solar mass black holes. For massive black holes, the tidal forces acting on the neutron star are usually too weak to disrupt the star before it reaches the innermost stable circular orbit of the black hole. Varying th…
The so-called black hole shadow is not a silhouette of a black hole but an image of a collapsing object or a white hole. Hence it is non-trivial whether black hole shadows merge with each other when black holes coalesce with each other. In this paper, by analyzing the null geodesic generators of the event horizon in Kastor-Traschen spacetime which describes a coalescence of black boles, we see that observers who will never see a merger of black hole shadows exist.
The specific angular momentum of a Kerr black hole must not be larger than its mass. The observational confirmation of this bound which we call a Kerr bound directly suggests the existence of a black hole. In order to investigate observational testability of this bound by using the X-ray energy spectrum of black hole candidates, we calculate energy spectra for a super-spinning object (or a naked singularity) which is described by a Kerr metric but whose specific angular momentum is larger than its mass, and then compare the spectra of this object with those of a black hole. We assume an optica…
Naked singularities are hypothetical astrophysical objects, characterized by a gravitational singularity without an event horizon. Penrose has proposed a conjecture, according to which there exists a cosmic censor who forbids the occurrence of naked singularities. Distinguishing between astrophysical black holes and naked singularities is a major challenge for present day observational astronomy. A possibility of differentiating naked singularities from black holes is through the comparative study of thin accretion disks properties around rotating naked singularities and Kerr-type black holes,…
The lack of rotating black hole models, which are typically found in nature, in loop quantum gravity (LQG) substantially hinders the progress of testing LQG from observations. Starting with a non-rotating LQG black hole as a seed metric, we construct a rotating spacetime using the revised Newman-Janis algorithm. The rotating solution is non-singular everywhere and it reduces to the Kerr black hole asymptotically. In different regions of the parameter space, the solution describes i) a wormhole without event horizon (which, we show, is almost ruled out by observations), ii) a black hole with a …
Since it was theorized by Kerr in 1963, determining the spin of black holes from observed data was paid very little attention until few years back. The main reasons behind this were the unavailability of adequate data and the lack of appropriate techniques. In this article, we explore determining/predicting the spin of several black holes in X-ray binaries and in the center of galaxies, using X-ray and gamma-ray satellite data. For X-ray binaries, in order to explain observed quasi-periodic oscillations, our model predicts the spin parameter of underlying black holes. On the other hand, the na…
Black hole thermodynamics has brought strong hints of a profound and fundamental connection between gravity, thermodynamics, and quantum theory. If the black hole does behave like a natural thermodynamic system, it should be thermodynamically stable in a clean environment. In this paper, using the observational data of binary black hole (BBH) mergers observed by LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA detectors, we check whether the black hole remnants produced from BBH mergers in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA catalog GWTC-3 are thermodynamically stable. The criterion for the thermodynamic stability is quite simple and…
We undertake the task of studying the non-linear dynamics of quantum gravity motivated alternatives to black holes that in the classical limit appear as ultra-compact shells of matter. We develop a formalism that should be amenable to numerical solution in generic situations. For a concrete model we focus on the spherically symmetric AdS black bubble -- a shell of matter at the Buchdahl radius separating a Schwarzschild exterior from an AdS interior. We construct a numerical code to study the radial dynamics of and accretion onto AdS black bubbles, with exterior matter provided by scalar field…
We report about the possibility for interacting Kerr sources to exist in two different states - black holes or naked singularities - both states characterized by the same masses and angular momenta. Another surprising discovery reported by us is that in spite of the absence of balance between two Kerr black holes, the latter nevertheless can repel each other, which provides a good opportunity for experimental detection of the spin-spin repulsive force through the observation of astrophysical black-hole binaries.
It is shown that the extremal Reissner-Nordström black hole, the non-extremal one with multiple scattering particles, and the Schwarzschild black hole with radial head-on particles are stable under the collision of the particles near the horizon, if the back-reaction effect and the effect generated by gravity of particles are involved. Moreover, the collision near Reissner-Nordström black holes with astrophysically typical mass can not generate the Planck-scale center-of-mass energy. However, the head-on collision near the typical primordial black hole could just occur at the Planck-energy sca…
We examine the observational appearance of an optically thick, spherically symmetric, relativistic wind (a black hole wind). In a relativistic flow, the apparent optical depth becomes small in the downstream direction, while it is large in the upstream direction due to the relativistic effect. Hence, the apparent photosphere of the relativistic flow depends on the flow velocity and direction as well as the density distribution. We calculate the temperature distribution of the apparent photosphere of the optically thick black hole wind, where the wind speed is assumed to be constant and radiati…
Binary black holes as the recently detected sources of gravitational waves can be formed from massive stellar binaries in the field or by dynamical interactions in clusters of high stellar density, if the black holes are the remnants of massive stars that collapsed without natal kicks that would disrupt the binary system or eject the black holes from the cluster before binary black hole formation. Here are summarized and discussed the kinematics in three dimensions of space of five Galactic black hole X-ray binaries. For Cygnus X-1 and GRS 1915+105 it is found that the black holes of ~15 and ~…
White dwarf stars that enter the tidal radius of black holes with masses $\lesssim$ $10^5$ M$_{\odot}$ are doomed to be ripped apart by tidal forces. Black holes in this mass range between stellar black holes and supermassive black holes have not been conclusively identified so the detection of a tidal disruption of a white dwarf would provide clear evidence for the existence of intermediate-mass black holes. In this review, we present a theoretical and observational overview of the transient events that result from the tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by intermediate-mass black holes. This i…
It is widely believed that relativistic jets in X-ray binaries and active-galactic nuclei are powered by the rotational energy of black holes. This idea is supported by general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of accreting black holes, which demonstrate efficient energy extraction via the Blandford-Znajek mechanism. However, due to uncertainties in the physics of mass-loading, and the failure of GRMHD numerical schemes in the highly-magnetized funnel region, the matter content of the jet remains poorly constrained. We investigate the observational signatures of mass-loading…
We study the compact binary population in star clusters, focusing on binaries containing black holes, using a self-consistent Monte Carlo treatment of dynamics and full stellar evolution. We find that the black holes experience strong mass segregation and become centrally concentrated. In the core the black holes interact strongly with each other and black hole-black hole binaries are formed very efficiently. The strong interactions, however, also destroy or eject the black hole-black hole binaries. We find no black hole-black hole mergers within our simulations but produce many hard escapers …
