Related papers: Constraining the Kerr parameters via X-ray reflect…
Black hole spectroscopy is a clean and powerful tool to test gravity in the strong-field regime and to probe the nature of compact objects. Next-generation ground-based detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer, will…
Line emission from an accretion disk and a corotating hot spot about a rotating black hole are considered for possible signatures of the frame-dragging effect. We explicitly compare integrated line profiles from a geometrically thin disk…
Recent X-ray timing and spectral observations of black hole binaries in outburst have redefined methods for investigating the properties of Galactic black holes and the physics of accretion flows. High-frequency X-ray QPOs in 5 systems…
The continuum-fitting and the iron-line methods are currently the two leading techniques for measuring the spins of accreting black holes. In the past few years, these two methods have been developed for testing fundamental physics. In the…
We present an X-ray spectral and timing model to investigate the broad and variable iron line seen in the high flux state of Mrk 335. The model consists of a variable X-ray source positioned along the rotation axis of the black hole that…
Einstein's theory of General Relativity predicts that the spacetime metric around astrophysical black holes is described by the Kerr solution. In this work, we employ state-of-the-art in relativistic reflection modeling to analyze a…
We discuss constraints on black hole spin and spin-related astrophysics as derived from X-ray spectroscopy. After a brief discussion about the robustness with which X-ray spectroscopy can be used to probe strong gravity, we summarize how…
Relativistic emission lines generated by thin accretion disks around rotating black holes are an important diagnostic tool for testing gravity near the horizon. The iron K-line is of special importance for the interpretation of the X-ray…
The gravitational field around an astrophysical black hole (BH) is thought to be described by the Kerr spacetime, which is a solution of the Einstein equation. Signatures of binary black hole (BBH) coalescence in gravitational waves (GW)…
Accretion disk reflection spectra, including broad iron emission lines, bear the imprints of the strong Doppler shifts and gravitational red-shifts close to black holes. The extremity of these shifts depends on the proximity of the…
Collaborative international efforts under the name of the Event Horizon Telescope project, using sub- mm very long baseline interferometry, are soon expected to provide the first images of the shadow cast by the candidate supermassive black…
The spacetime around astrophysical black holes is thought to be described by the Kerr solution. However, even within general relativity, there is not yet a proof that the final product of the complete collapse of an uncharged body can only…
The recent observation of the shadow of the supermassive compact object M87$^*$ by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has opened up a new window to probe the strong gravity regime. In this paper, we study shadows cast by two…
General relativistic effects are strong near the black hole of an X-ray binary and significantly impact the total energy released at the innermost accretion disk's region. Our goal is to fully incorporate the black hole's spin and all the…
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…
In most accreting black-hole systems the copious X-rays commonly observed from the inner-most regions are accompanied by a reflection spectrum. The latter is the signature of energetic photons reprocessed by the optically thick material of…
We present a method for determining the physical parameters of a Kerr-Newman black hole through shadow observation. In a system comprising a Kerr-Newman black hole, an observer, and a light source, the relevant parameters are mass $M$,…
We are motivated by the recently reported dynamical evidence of stars with short orbital periods moving around the center of the Milky Way and the corresponding hypothesis about the existence of a supermassive black hole hosted at its…
Accretion disks around black holes radiate a significant fraction of the rest mass of the accreting material in the form of thermal radiation from within a few gravitational radii of the black hole ($ r \lesssim 20 G M / c^{2}$). In…
An outstanding prediction of general relativity is the fact that the angular momentum $S$ of an isolated black hole with mass $\mu$ is limited by the Kerr bound, $S\leq G\mu^2/c$. Testing this cornerstone is challenging due to the…