Related papers: Testing the Bardeen metric with the black hole can…
In Gou et al. (2011), we reported that the black hole primary in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 is a near-extreme Kerr black hole with a spin parameter a*>0.95(3{\sigma}). We confirm this result while setting a new and more stringent limit:…
In a previous paper, one of us has showed that, at least in some cases, the Kerr-nature of astrophysical black hole candidates is extremely difficult to test and current techniques, even in presence of excellent data not available today,…
It is thought that the spacetime geometry around black hole candidates is described by the Kerr solution, but an observational confirmation is still missing. Today, the continuum-fitting method and the analysis of the iron K$\alpha$ line…
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…
Cygnus X-1 is a well-studied persistent black hole X-ray binary. Recently, the three parameters needed to estimate the black hole spin of this system, namely the black hole mass $M$, the orbital inclination $i$ and the source distance $D$,…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity, as these objects cannot be explained otherwise without introducing new physics. However, there is no observational evidence that the…
The compact primary in the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 was the first black hole to be established via dynamical observations. We have recently determined accurate values for its mass and distance, and for the orbital inclination angle of the…
We continue exploring the constraining capabilities of X-ray reflection spectroscopy to test the Kerr-nature of astrophysical black holes and we present the results of our analysis of two NuSTAR observations of Cygnus X-1 in the soft state.…
In general relativity, astrophysical black holes are uniquely described by the Kerr metric. Observational tests of the Kerr nature of these compact objects and, hence, of general relativity, require a metric that encompasses a broader class…
The spins of a number of supermassive and stellar-mass black holes have been measured based on detections of thermal continuum emission and relativistically broadened iron lines in their x-ray spectra. Likewise, quasiperiodic variability…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes of general relativity, but the actual nature of these objects has still to be confirmed. The continuum-fitting and the iron line methods are currently the only…
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$\alpha$ iron line are today the only available techniques capable of…
In 4-dimensional General Relativity, black holes are described by the Kerr solution and are subject to the bound $|a_*| \le 1$, where $a_*$ is the black hole spin parameter. If current black hole candidates are not the black holes predicted…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes of general relativity, but there is not yet direct observational evidence that the spacetime geometry around these objects is described by the Kerr solution. The…
Astrophysical black holes are expected to be described by the Kerr metric. This is the only stationary, vacuum, axisymmetric metric, without electromagnetic charge, that satisfies Einstein's equations and does not have pathologies outside…
The Event Horizon Telescope, a global submillimeter wavelength very long baseline interferometry array, produced the first image of supermassive black hole M87* showing a ring of diameter $\theta_d= 42\pm 3\,\mu$as, inferred a black hole…
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…
We propose a new parametrization for testing the Kerr nature of astrophysical black hole candidates. The common approaches focus on the attempt to constrain possible deviations from the Kerr solution described by new terms in the metric.…
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…
If astrophysical black hole candidates are the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity, the value of their spin parameter must be subject to the theoretical bound $|a_*| \le 1$. In this work, we consider the possibility that these…