Related papers: Can the EHT M87 results be used to test general re…
Recent observations by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) of supermassive black holes M87* and Sgr A* offer valuable insights into their spacetime properties and astrophysical conditions. Utilizing a library of model images (~2 million for…
In the past decade, we have seen an unprecedented progress in our ability of testing general relativity in the strong field regime with black hole observations. Most studies have focused on the so-called tests of the Kerr hypothesis: they…
Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope of the Universe at $z\gtrsim 4$ have shown that massive black holes (MBHs) appear extremely overmassive compared to the local correlation for active galactic nuclei. In some cases, these…
Interpretation of resolved polarized images of black holes by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) requires predictions of the polarized emission observable by an Earth-based instrument for a particular model of the black hole accretion…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) provides a unique opportunity to probe the physics of supermassive black holes through Very Large Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), such as the existence of the event horizon, the accretion processes as well…
We review a General Relativistic (GR) method to determine the black hole (BH) parameters: mass-to-distance ratio, position and recessional velocity of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of Seyfert type, which have an accretion disk with water…
There are a number of approaches to testing General Relativity (GR) on linear scales using parameterized frameworks for modifying cosmological perturbation theory. It is sometimes assumed that the details of any given parameterization are…
We show that interferometry can be applied to study irregular, rapidly rotating structures, as are expected in the turbulent accretion flow near a black hole. Specifically, we analyze the lagged covariance between interferometric baselines…
In classical General Relativity (GR), an observer falling into an astrophysical black hole is not expected to experience anything dramatic as she crosses the event horizon. However, tentative resolutions to problems in quantum gravity, such…
The theory of measurement is employed to elucidate the physical basis of general relativity. For measurements involving phenomena with intrinsic length or time scales, such scales must in general be negligible compared to the (translational…
The fundamental role played by black holes in our study of microquasars, gamma ray bursts, and the outflows from active galactic nuclei requires an appreciation for, and at times some in-depth analysis of, curved spacetime. We highlight…
Black holes depend only on mass and spin, while what we see from the accretion flow in steady state depends also on mass accretion rate and (weakly) inclination. Hence we should be able to scale the accretion flow properties from the…
General Relativity (GR) is a phenomenologically successful theory that rests on firm foundations, but has not been tested on cosmological scales. The advent of dark energy (and possibly even the requirement of cold dark matter), has…
Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious radiation…
Thanks to the recent discoveries of gravitational wave signals from binary black hole mergers by Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory and Advanced Virgo, the genuinely strong-field dynamics of spacetime can now be…
According to the celebrated singularity theorems, space-time singularities in general relativity are inevitable. However, it is generally believed that singularities do not exist in nature, and their existence suggests the necessity of a…
The recent 230 GHz observations of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) are able to image the innermost structure of the M87 and show a ring-like structure which is in agreement with thermal synchrotron emission generated in a torus…
Nearly every galactic core contains a supermassive compact object, hypothesized to be a Kerr black hole. It was only with the advent of Event Horizon Telescope observations that the predictions of this hypothesis could be observationally…
The accretion efficiency for individual black holes is very difficult to determine accurately. There are many factors that can influence each step of the calculation, such as the dust and host galaxy contribution to the observed luminosity,…
Black holes are among the most extreme objects that can be found in the Universe and an ideal laboratory for testing fundamental physics. This article will briefly review the basic properties of black holes as expected from general…