Related papers: Black Hole Event Horizons and X-ray Nova Luminosit…
Event horizons are the defining feature of classical black holes. They are the key ingredient of the information loss paradox which, as paradoxes in quantum foundations, is built on a combination of predictions of quantum theory and…
We investigate the shadow of an exact black hole solution of Einstein's equations recently proposed by Cardoso et al., to describe a supermassive black hole immersed in a dark matter halo. We analyze and discuss the light rings and the…
We present X-ray properties of optically-selected intermediate-mass (~10^5--10^6 M_Sun) black holes (BHs) in active galaxies (AGNs), using data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Our observations are a continuation of a pilot study by…
Recently the Event Horizon Telescope observed black holes at event horizon scales for the first time, enabling us to now test the existence of event horizons. Although event horizons have by definition no observable features, one can look…
In neutron star and black hole X-ray binaries the transitions between the two spectral states, hard and soft, signals the change between accretion via a hot advection-dominated flow(ADAF) and disk accretion. In a few cases the hard/soft…
We examine the distribution of masses of black holes in transient low mass X-ray binary systems. A Bayesian analysis suggests that it is probable that six of the seven systems with measured mass functions have black hole masses clustered…
We explore possible systematic errors in the mass measurements of stellar mass black holes. We find that significant errors can arise from the assumption of zero or constant emission from the accretion flow, which is commonly used when…
A recent work [Phys. Rev. D 111, 104040] shows that the curvature singularity of a black hole can vanish at a fine-tuned mass value, which implies that regular black holes could be special states in black hole evolution. We study the…
Roughly a dozen X-ray binaries are presently known in which the compact accreting primary stars are too massive to be neutron stars. These primaries are identified as black holes, though there is as yet no definite proof that any of the…
Recent observations of supernovae, supernova remnants, and radio pulsars suggest that there are correlations between pulsar kicks and spins, infrared and gamma-ray line profiles, supernova polarizations, and ejecta debris fields. A…
We report the most recent results of our analysis of X-ray monitoring of new Galactic Black Hole (BH) candidates XTE J1752-225 and MAXI J1659-152 performed by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). We investigate various aspects of the RXTE…
We report on the discovery of the optical counterpart to the neutron star soft X-ray transient (SXT) XTE J1709-267 in outburst and quiescence. We further report the detection of type I bursts in RXTE data obtained during an outburst of the…
The controversy over whether ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) contain a new intermediate-mass class of black holes (IMBHs) remains unresolved. We present new analyses of the deepest XMM-Newton observations of ULXs that address their…
We present the results of X-ray variability and spectral analysis of a sample of 15 new candidates for active galactic nuclei with relatively low-mass black holes (BHs). They are selected from the Second XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source…
Proof that black holes exist will likely require confirmation of the existence of event horizons. The common assumption that the mere existence of large compact masses proves the case for black holes is an unwarranted extrapolation of…
Black holes have the peculiar and intriguing property of having an event horizon, a one-way membrane causally separating their internal region from the rest of the Universe. Today astrophysical observations provide some evidence for the…
We use 62185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 sample to explore the relationship between black hole mass and luminosity. Black hole masses were estimated based on the widths of their H{\beta}, MgII and CIV lines and…
From an astrophysical perspective, the composition of black holes (BHs), dark matter (DM), and dark energy can be an intriguing physical system. In this study, we consider Schwarzschild BHs embedded in a Dehnen-type DM halo exhibiting a…
We present a pilot study of the X-ray properties of intermediate-mass (~10^5-10^6 M_sun) black holes in active galaxies using the Chandra X-ray telescope. Eight of the 10 active galaxies are detected with a significance of at least 3 sigma,…
Celebrating the centennial of its first experimental test, the theory of General Relativity (GR) has successfully and consistently passed all subsequent tests with flying colours. It is expected, however, that at certain scales new physics,…