Related papers: To Probe a Black Hole
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) combines the signals of telescopes distributed across thousands of kilometres to provide some of the highest angular resolution images of astrophysical phenomena. Due to computational expense,…
The near future mm/sub-mm VLBI experiments are ambitious projects aiming at imaging the "shadow" of the supermassive black hole candidate at the center of the Milky Way and of the ones in nearby galaxies. An accurate observation of the…
In this proceedings, we review the importance and complexity of detecting and characterizing supermassive binary black holes using conventional techniques (spectroscopy, timing, imaging). We show how spectropolarimetric data can strengthen…
Very Long Baseline Interferometry, or VLBI, is the observing technique yielding the highest-resolution images today. Whilst a traditionally large fraction of VLBI observations is concentrating on Active Galactic Nuclei, the number of…
VLBI at millimeter wavelengths (mm-VLBI) allows the detailed imaging of compact galactic and extragalactic radio sources with micro-arcsecond scale resolution, unaccessible by other observing techniques. Here we discuss the scientific…
We use the Sloan-Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog to statistically infer the local abundance of black holes heavier than $10^8M_\odot$, which allows us to estimate the detection prospect of super-massive black holes by future observational…
Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) from the ground at millimeter wavelengths can resolve the black hole shadow around two supermassive black holes, Sagittarius A* and M87. The addition of modest telescopes in space would allow the…
I present an overview of important results obtained using high-resolution very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of X-ray binary systems. These results derive from both astrometric observations and resolved imaging of…
Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) provides the resolution needed to make precision measurements of a pulsar's parallax and proper motion. In making these measurements, the astronomer is faced with difficult calibration problems and a…
Optical Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) offers the potential for unprecedented angular resolution in both astronomical imaging and precision measurements. Classical approaches, however, face significant limitations due to photon…
The super massive black hole candidate, Sagittarius A*, exhibits variability from radio to X-ray wavelengths on time scales that correspond to < 10 Schwarzschild radii. We survey the potential of millimeter-wavelength VLBI to detect and…
Dark halo substructure may reveal itself through secondary, small-scale gravitational lensing effects on light sources that are macrolensed by a foreground galaxy. Here, we explore the prospects of using Very Long Baseline Interferometry…
Direct electromagnetic observation of the orbital motion of a sub-parsec, supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) would provide the first conclusive proof of such systems existing. Widely considered to be the sources of gravitational waves,…
We present the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX), a mission that will produce the sharpest images in the history of astronomy by extending submillimeter Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to space. BHEX will discover and measure the bright…
We consider a one-brane probe in the presence of a five-dimensional black hole in the classical limit. The velocity-dependent force on a slowly-moving probe is characterized by a metric on the probe moduli space. This metric is computed for…
Systematic surveys of astronomical objects often lead to discoveries, but always provide invaluable information for statistical studies of well-defined samples. They also promote follow-up investigations of individual objects or classes.…
This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early '90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the…
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) at frequencies above 230 GHz with Earth-diameter baselines gives spatial resolution finer than the ${\sim}50 \mu$as "shadow" of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A* (Sgr…
This thesis reports on the application of new wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging techniques using real data for the first time. These techniques are used to target three specific science areas: (i) a…
We show that very-long-baseline-interferometry (VLBI) observations of supermassive black holes will allow us to test the fundamental principles of General Relativity (GR). GR is based on the universality of gravity and Einstein's…