Related papers: Perturbed Kerr Black Holes can probe deviations fr…
Considerable attention has recently focused on gravity theories obtained by extending general relativity with additional scalar, vector, or tensor degrees of freedom. In this paper, we show that the black-hole solutions of these theories…
In general relativity, the Kerr metric uniquely represents the geometry surrounding an isolated, rotating black hole. An identification of significant non-Kerr features in some astrophysical source would then provide a `smoking-gun' for the…
Modified theories of gravity are often built such that they contain general relativity as a limiting case. This inclusion property implies that the Kerr metric is common to many families of theories. For example, all analytic $f(R)$…
Black holes represent outstanding astrophysical laboratories to test the strong gravity regime, since alternative theories of gravity may predict black hole solutions whose may differ distinctly from those of General Relativity. When higher…
Black-hole perturbation theory is a useful tool to investigate issues in astrophysics, high-energy physics, and fundamental problems in gravity. It is often complementary to fully-fledged nonlinear evolutions and instrumental to interpret…
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 Kerr black hole hypothesis can be tested by observing strong…
The analysis of the properties of the X-ray radiation emitted from geometrically thin accretion disks around black holes can be a powerful tool to test General Relativity in the strong field regime. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art…
The computation of gravitational radiation generated by the coalescence of inspiralling binary black holes is nowdays one of the main goals of numerical relativity. Perturbation theory has emerged as an ubiquitous tool for all those…
We report on the first numerical-relativity simulations of black-hole binaries that deviate from General Relativity due to quadratic-curvature corrections. Said theory of Quadratic Gravity propagates additional massive modes and admits both…
Astrophysical tests of general relativity belong to two categories: 1) "internal", i.e. consistency tests within the theory (for example, tests that astrophysical black holes are indeed described by the Kerr solution and its perturbations),…
The prediction of spacetime singularities, regions of infinite curvature where classical physics breaks down, is one of the most profound challenges in General Relativity (GR). In particular, black hole solutions such as the Schwarzschild…
Observations of the black hole shadow of supermassive black holes, such as Sagittarius A* at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, allow us to study the properties of black holes and the nature of strong-field gravity. According to the Kerr…
We show that extremal Kerr black holes are sensitive probes of new physics. Stringy or quantum corrections to general relativity are expected to generate higher-curvature terms in the gravitational action. We show that in the presence of…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes of general relativity. However, macroscopic deviations from the Kerr background are predicted by a number of scenarios beyond Einstein's gravity. X-ray reflection…
Collapsed objects have definitely been observed: some are stellar-mass objects, the endpoint of massive stars; others, millions of times more massive, have been discovered in the cores of most galaxies. Their formation poses some…
Perturbations of the Kerr black hole are notoriously difficult to describe in the metric formalism and are usually studied in terms of perturbations of the Weyl scalars. In this work, we focus on the algebraically special linear…
Gravitational wave observations can test the validity of General Relativity (GR) in the strong field regime. Certain classes of scalar-tensor theories indeed predict that compact objects can exhibit significant deviations from their GR…
Black holes can be electromagnetically charged, or carry vector charge from new fundamental fields. Their response to small fluctuations is of paramount importance to study gravitational wave generation. However, the usual even and odd…
The Kerr solution is the cornerstone of General Relativity (GR) for modelling astrophysical rotating black holes and for testing GR through gravitational-wave observations and black hole imaging. Understanding how the Kerr geometry is…
General relativity has passed all solar system experiments and neutron star based tests, such as binary pulsar observations, with flying colors. A more exotic arena for testing general relativity is in systems that contain one or more black…