Analytical approach for calculating shadow of dynamical black hole
Abstract
We develop a compact and transparent framework for photon dynamics and shadow formation in slowly evolving, spherically symmetric spacetimes. Starting from the Eddington-Finkelstein action, we derive a force-decomposed radial equation in which the radial acceleration splits into an induced term sourced by mass variation, a centrifugal term, and a purely general-relativistic correction. A key result is a gauge-invariant energy-flux relation, , with , which controls how time dependence modifies the canonical energy of null geodesics. In the adiabatic regime we obtain an explicit first-order shift of the photon-sphere radius, , and connect it to the observable shadow through the evolving critical impact parameter, . For Vaidya spacetimes this predicts that accretion () expands the photon sphere and increases the shadow angle, whereas mass loss has the opposite effect. Our formulation refines classic force-balance ideas to dynamical settings, provides a constructive link to time-dependent photon surfaces, and yields simple, observer-ready expressions for the evolution of the shadow. The framework offers a baseline for confronting time-variable horizon-scale imaging with dynamical inflow/outflow models.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2412.10930,
title = {Analytical approach for calculating shadow of dynamical black hole},
author = {Vitalii Vertogradov and Ali Övgün},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.10930},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
8 pages