Related papers: Seeing the unseeable
The first images of the black holes in Sagittarius A* and M87* have created a wide range of new scientific opportunities in gravitational physics, compact objects, and relativistic astrophysics. We discuss here the scientific opportunities…
We propose a new test of strong-field general relativity (GR) based on the universal interferometric signature of the black hole photon ring. The photon ring is a narrow ring-shaped feature, predicted by GR but not yet observed, that…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment that aims to observe supermassive black holes with an angular resolution that is comparable to the event horizon scale. The South Pole occupies an…
The black hole paradigm, while remarkably successful, raises fundamental questions-both classical and quantum-about the nature of spacetime, horizons, and singularities. Black hole mimickers, horizonless ultra-compact objects, have emerged…
While supermassive black hole masses have been cataloged across cosmic time, only a few dozen of them have robust spin measurements. By extending and improving the existing Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) array, the next-generation Event…
With high spatial resolution, polarimetric imaging of a supermassive black hole, like M87$^\star$ or Sgr A$^\star$, by the Event Horizon Telescope can be used to probe the existence of ultralight bosonic particles, such as axions. Such…
We present techniques and methods for analyzing the dynamics of event horizons in numerically constructed spacetimes. There are three classes of analytical tools we have investigated. The first class consists of proper geometrical measures…
Black holes are the sources of the strongest gravitational fields that can be found today in the Universe and are ideal laboratories for testing Einstein's theory of General Relativity in the strong field regime. In this letter, I show that…
Black holes in general relativity are characterized by their trapping horizon, a one-way membrane that can be crossed only inwards. The existence of trapping horizons in astrophysical black holes can be tested observationally using a…
The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX), an orbiting, multi-band, millimeter radio-telescope, in hybrid combination with millimeter terrestrial radio-telescopes, is designed to discover and measure the thin photon ring around the supermassive black…
Recently, several ways of obtaining observational proof of the existence of black-hole horizons have been proposed. We argue here that such proof is fundamentally impossible: observations can provide arguments, sometimes very strong ones,…
We demonstrate that a dark silhouette of the black hole illuminated by a thin accretion disk and seen by a distant observer is, in fact, a silhouette of the event horizon hemisphere. The boundary of this silhouette is a contour of the event…
Recent developments have ushered in a new era in the field of black hole astrophysics, providing our first direct view of the remarkable environment near black hole event horizons. These observations have enabled astronomers to confirm…
Astronomers have discovered many candidate black holes in X-ray binaries and in the nuclei of galaxies. The candidate objects are too massive to be neutron stars, and for this reason they are considered to be black holes. While the evidence…
The concept of a horizon known from general relativity describes the loss of causal connection and can be applied to non-gravitational scenarios such as out-of-equilibrium condensed-matter systems in the laboratory. This analogy facilitates…
The introduction of coordinates representing the points of view of various observers results in the possibility of horizons when acceleration and gravitation are included. A horizon is a surface of possible light beams in a region of space…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a global very long baseline interferometry array operating at millimetre wavelengths, is spatially resolving the immediate environments of black holes for the first time. The current observations of the…
In general relativity, a gravitational horizon (more commonly known as the "apparent horizon") is an imaginary surface beyond which all null geodesics recede from the observer. The Universe has an apparent (gravitational) horizon, but…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a millimeter-wavelength, very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment that is capable of observing black holes with horizon-scale resolution. Early observations have revealed variable…
Black holes are among the most compelling predictions of general relativity (GR) and are now strongly supported by observations from gravitational-wave detectors and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). While standard black hole solutions…