Related papers: Fundamental photon orbits: black hole shadows and …
The black hole photon ring is a prime target for upcoming space-based VLBI missions seeking to image the fine structure of astrophysical black holes. The classical Lyapunov exponents of the corresponding nearly bound null geodesics control…
Simulated images of a black hole surrounded by optically thin emission typically display two main features: a central brightness depression and a narrow, bright "photon ring" consisting of strongly lensed images superposed on top of the…
We conduct a comprehensive study on spherical orbits around two types of black holes: Kerr-Newman black holes, which are charged, and Ghosh black holes, which are nonsingular. In this work, we consider both null and timelike cases of…
Rotating hairy black holes (RHBHs) are axisymmetric equilibrium solutions of the Einstein--Klein--Gordon equations, consisting of a spinning black hole surrounded by a toroidal distribution of complex scalar field. Despite their potential…
Photon spheres play a pivotal role in the imaging of luminous objects near black holes. In this paper, we examine observational appearances of a star freely falling in hairy black holes, which can possess one or two photon spheres outside…
We examine the shadow cast by a Kerr black hole, focusing on constraints on photons corresponding to different shadow boundaries. The photons are related to different orbital ranges and impact parameter values, creating a map of the shadow…
We investigate particle motion in regular and asymptotically flat black hole spacetimes supported by Dehnen-type dark-matter halos. Two analytic models are analyzed, allowing a systematic study of circular geodesics, photon-sphere…
We explore the universal symmetries of the black hole photon ring in a wide range of non-Kerr spacetimes, including the Kerr-Newman, Kerr-Sen, Kerr-Bardeen, and Kerr-Hayward metrics. The demagnification exponent ($\gamma$) controls the size…
Light-ring bifurcations that can occur for prolate non-Kerr compact objects can leave an indelible signature on SMBH shadows as a fractal sequence of eyebrow-like formations. These fractal features are the result of two properties of these…
Cuspy shadow was first reported for hairy rotating black holes, whose metrics deviate significantly from the Kerr one. The non-smooth edge of the shadow is attributed to a transition between different branches of unstable but bounded…
Using backwards ray tracing, we study the shadows of Kerr black holes with scalar hair (KBHsSH). KBHsSH interpolate continuously between Kerr BHs and boson stars (BSs), so we start by investigating the lensing of light due to BSs. Moving…
Black hole solutions in general relativity come with pathologies such as singularity and mass inflation instability, which are believed to be cured by a yet-to-be-found quantum theory of gravity. Without such consistent description, one may…
We present a detailed study of higher-order photon rings of an accreting Kerr naked singularity (KNS) with dimensionless spin parameter $a=1.01$; i.e., a horizonless, overly spinning compact object. Motivated by horizon-scale…
We propose that high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HFQPOs) can be produced from randomly-formed X-ray bursts (flashes) by plasma interior to the ergosphere of a rapidly-rotating black hole. We show by direct computation of their…
Recently, ultracompact objects have been found to be susceptible to a new nonlinear instability, known as the light-ring instability, triggered by stable light rings. This discovery raises concerns about the viability of these objects as…
In general relativity without a cosmological constant, a classical theorem due to Hawking states that stationary black holes must be topologically spherical. This result is one of the several ingredients that collectively imply the…
For a stationary, axisymmetric, asymptotically flat, ultra-compact [$i.e.$ containing light-rings (LRs)] object, with a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ north-south symmetry fixing an equatorial plane, we establish that the structure of timelike circular…
The Rayleigh criterion is used to study the stability of circular orbits of particles moving around static black holes surrounded by different axially symmetric structures with reflection symmetry, like disks, rings and halos. We consider…
The black hole shadow, a direct probe of the event horizon's gravitational influence, has been observationally confirmed by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). While theoretical models of shadows in vacuum are mature, real astrophysical…
We study images of spacetimes containing continuous photon spheres (CPS). For a self-gravitating, isotropic, spherically symmetric spacetime with CPS, we find that a thin accretion disk produces images that closely resemble those of a…