arXiv subjects

Rahul Kumar Walia

Publications and source records attributed to Rahul Kumar Walia.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Universal Bounds on Black Hole Observables Imposed by Energy Conditions

We establish a universal connection between the classical energy conditions and directly observable black hole properties. By imposing the energy conditions locally at the photon sphere, we derive analytic and testable bounds on the shadow size, Lyapunov exponent, Lyapunov time, and photon-ring time delay that apply to all static, spherically symmetric black holes in General Relativity. Expressed equivalently in terms of either the spacetime metric functions or the local components of the stress-energy tensor, these bounds provide complementary tests of strong-field gravity that are independent of any specific black hole solution or matter model. They are directly applicable to current and forthcoming horizon-scale observations, constrain both admissible black hole spacetimes and their underlying matter sources, and establish the classical energy conditions as observational probes of strong-field gravity. Any observational violation of these bounds would signal either a violation of the classical energy conditions by the matter fields or a breakdown of General Relativity in the strong-field regime.

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arXiv2025

Testing Strong Gravitational Lensing Effects of Supermassive Black Holes with String-Inspired Metric: Observational Signatures and EHT Constraints

We analyze gravitational lensing in the strong field limit for spherically symmetric string-inspired Euler-Heisenberg black holes, characterized by magnetic charge ($q$) and Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton coupling constants ($α, β$) from the low-energy limit of heterotic string theory. Our results show that the string coupling has a weak impact on the positions of relativistic images, deflection angles, photon orbit radii, and shadow sizes, making these black holes indistinguishable from the Gibbons-Maeda-Garfinkle-Horowitz-Strominger (GMGHS) black holes with the same mass and charge. Compared to Schwarzschild black holes, the string-inspired Euler-Heisenberg black holes exhibit smaller deflection angles, decreasing with increasing charge. Moreover, the time delay for Sgr A * and M87 * can reach $~11.477$ and $~17349.8$ minutes, respectively, at $q=0.1$ and $η=-1$, deviating from Schwarzschild black holes by $~0.0198$ and $~28.9$ minutes, which are not very significant. For Sgr A* and M87*, we determine $θ_\infty$ range within $(11.52, 26.33)~μas$, and $(9.17, 19.78)~μas$ respectively, with angular separations $s$ ranging from $(3.29-6.85)~nas$ for Sgr A* and $(2.47-5.15)~nas$ for M87*. EHT bounds on the $θ_{sh}$ of Sgr A* and M87* within the $1σ$ interval bound the $q$ as: for Sgr A* $0.54109\le q \le 0.7796 $ and for M87* $0< q \le 0.29107$, while in both the cases, we did not find any bound on the parameter $η$. We show that string-inspired Euler-Heisenberg black holes and EHT observations agree in the finite parameter space. A discussion on the effective metric has been included.

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arXiv2024

Influence of Observer Inclination and Spacetime Structure on Photon Ring Observables

Recent observations of the near-horizon regions of BHs, particularly the images captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, have greatly advanced our understanding of gravity in extreme conditions. These images reveal a bright, ring-like structure surrounding the central dark area of supermassive BHs, created by the images of unstable photon orbits. As observational capabilities improve, future studies are expected to resolve higher-order rings, providing new opportunities to test gravity through observables such as the Lyapunov exponent, time delay, and azimuthal shift. These observables offer valuable insights into the structure of spacetime, BH properties, and the inclination of the observer. In this study, we employ a non-perturbative and non-parametric framework to examine how these observables change with deviations from the no-hair theorem and varying inclinations. We focus particularly on polar observers, which are highly relevant for the supermassive compact object at the centre of the galaxy M87. Our analysis explores how each of these observables can reveal information about the structure of spacetime and the morphology and existence of the ergosphere and event horizon. Furthermore, we illustrate this characterization for several specific alternative spacetimes, investigating how these current and potential future measurements, including those of the shadow size, can provide direct insights into the spin parameter values for each of these spacetimes.

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arXiv2024

Spacetime Measurements with the Photon Ring

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 and flux scaling of higher-order images, which appear in the photon ring, the time delay ($\tau$) determines the timing of their appearance, and the rotation parameter ($\delta$) relates their relative orientations on the image plane. Our investigation reveals that these critical parameters respond distinctly to variations in black hole spin, generalized charge, and observer inclination, establishing them as complementary probes of spacetime geometry: $\gamma$ is predominantly influenced by charge and spin, $\tau$ is strongly affected by inclination, especially for near-extremal black holes, and $\delta$ is highly sensitive to spin. Notably, we find that the time delay provides an independent constraint on shadow size for polar observers, while the rotation parameter facilitates metric-independent spin measurements. Specifically, for Kerr black holes, the total variation in $\gamma$, $\tau$, and $\delta$ across all possible inclinations and spins is $\lesssim 20\%$, $\lesssim 10\%$, and $\lesssim 60\%$, respectively. By contrast, the Kerr shadow radius varies by only $\lesssim 8\%$. A future joint measurement of these critical parameters -- along with the black hole shadow size -- will enable precise spacetime characterization, including measurements of the spin, inclination, and generalized charge.

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arXiv2024

Exploring Nonlinear Electrodynamics Theories: Shadows of Regular Black Holes and Horizonless Ultra-Compact Objects

In the Einstein-Maxwell theory with nonlinear electrodynamics (NED) fields, the singularity problem in general relativity is potentially resolved, leading to regular black hole solutions. In NED theories, photons follow null geodesics of an effective geometry that differs from the spacetime geometry itself. This raises an important question: Do NED fields produce unique observational signatures in the electromagnetic spectrum that can test regular black holes and NED theories? We analyze the shadows of two NED-charged regular black holes and their horizonless ultracompact objects (HUCOs) under two accretion models, comparing them with Schwarzschild black holes, focusing on shadow size, central brightness depression, and photon ring characteristics. Our results identify distinctive NED signatures that could be observable by the EHT, providing empirical evidence of NED fields and potentially ruling out previously considered viable candidates for astrophysical black holes models based on shadow measurements. Notably, NED-charged HUCOs generally exhibit only one $\textit{unstable}$ photon ring, thus avoiding the dynamical instability associated with stable photon rings and challenging the idea that objects with photon rings must be black holes.

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arXiv2023

Horizon-scale tests of gravity theories and fundamental physics from the Event Horizon Telescope image of Sagittarius A$^*$

Horizon-scale images of black holes (BHs) and their shadows have opened an unprecedented window onto tests of gravity and fundamental physics in the strong-field regime. We consider a wide range of well-motivated deviations from classical General Relativity (GR) BH solutions, and constrain them using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sagittarius A$^*$ (Sgr A$^*$), connecting the size of the bright ring of emission to that of the underlying BH shadow and exploiting high-precision measurements of Sgr A$^*$'s mass-to-distance ratio. The scenarios we consider, and whose fundamental parameters we constrain, include various regular BHs, string-inspired space-times, violations of the no-hair theorem driven by additional fields, alternative theories of gravity, novel fundamental physics frameworks, and BH mimickers including well-motivated wormhole and naked singularity space-times. We demonstrate that the EHT image of Sgr A$^*$ places particularly stringent constraints on models predicting a shadow size larger than that of a Schwarzschild BH of a given mass, with the resulting limits in some cases surpassing cosmological ones. Our results are among the first tests of fundamental physics from the shadow of Sgr A$^*$ and, while the latter appears to be in excellent agreement with the predictions of GR, we have shown that a number of well motivated alternative scenarios, including BH mimickers, are far from being ruled out at present.

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arXiv2023

Observational predictions of LQG motivated polymerized black holes and constraints from Sgr A* and M87*

Loop quantum gravity inspired partial polymer quantization in four-dimensional spacetime leads to a globally regular black hole with a single horizon. The polymerized black hole metric is characterized by the minimum length parameter $k$, and mimics the Schwarzschild black hole in the weak-field limit. We present an analytic and numerical investigation of the strong gravitational lensing and shadow morphology to determine the observational impacts of quantum effects. Interestingly, the light deflection angle, the angular separation between the outermost relativistic image, and magnification are significantly larger than those for the Schwarzschild black hole. Using the ray-tracing technique, we simulate the black hole shadows under three distinct optically thin accretion models: static spherical accretion, radially infalling spherical accretion, and the thin accretion disk model. Polymerized black holes' shadow morphology strongly depends on $k$. We derive constraints on $k$ from the M87* and Sgr A* black hole shadow observations from the Event Horizon Telescope.

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arXiv2023

Shadows of Kerr-like black holes in $4D$ Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity and constraints from EHT observations

The M87* black hole shadow observation by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has enabled us to test the modified gravity theories in the extreme-field regime and estimating the black hole parameters. Having this assertion, we investigate the Kerr-like rotating black holes in $4D$ Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity and deduce their shadows. Considering the inclination angle $θ_0=17^o$, we show that the EGB black hole shadows are smaller and more distorted than for the Kerr black holes. Modelling the M87* black hole as the EGB black hole, we predict the shadow angular size $35.7888μas\leq θ_d\leq 39.6192μas$. The M87* black hole shadow angular size $θ_d=42\pm 3μas$, within the 1$σ$ region, constrains the GB coupling parameter and the black hole spin parameter. Interestingly, the circularity deviation of the EGB black hole shadows is smaller than the bounded deduced for the M87* black hole.

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arXiv2023

Investigating Loop Quantum Gravity with EHT Observational Effects of Rotating Black holes

A mathematically consistent rotating black hole model in loop quantum gravity (LQG) is yet lacking. The scarcity of rotating black hole solutions in LQG substantially hampers the development of testing LQG from observations, e.g., from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations. The EHT observation revealed event horizon-scale images of the supermassive black holes Sgr A* and M87*. The EHT results are consistent with the shadow of a Kerr black hole of general relativity. We present LQG-motivated rotating black hole (LMRBH) spacetimes, which are regular everywhere and asymptotically encompass the Kerr black hole as a particular case. The LMRBH metric describes a multi-horizon black hole in the sense that it can admit up to three horizons, such that an extremal LMRBH, unlike the Kerr black hole, refers to a black hole with angular momentum $a>M$. The metric, depending on the parameters, describes (1) black holes with only one horizon (BH-I), (2) black holes with an event horizon and a Cauchy horizons (BH-II), (3) black holes with three horizons (BH-III) or (4) no-horizon (NH) spacetime, which, we show, is almost ruled out by the EHT observations. We constrain the LQG parameter with the aid of the EHT shadow observational results of M87* and Sgr A*,respectively, for an inclination angle of $17^0$ and $50^0$. In particular, the VLTI bound for the Sgr A*, $δ\in (-0.17,0.01)$, constrains the parameters ($a,l$) such that for $0< l\leq 0.347851M\; (l\leq 2\times 10^6$ km), the allowed range of $a$ is $(0,1.0307M)$. Together with the EHT bounds of Sgr A$^*$ and M87$^*$ observables, our analysis concludes that a substantial part of BH-I and BH-II parameter space agrees with the EHT results of M87* and Sgr A*. While the EHT M87* results totally rule out the BH-III, but not that by Sgr A*.

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arXiv2022

Testing Rotating Regular Metrics with EHT Results of Sgr A*

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observation unveiled the first image of supermassive black hole Sgr A* showing a shadow of diameter $θ_{sh}= 48.7 \pm 7\,μ$as with fractional deviation from the Schwarzschild black hole shadow diameter $δ= -0.08^{+0.09}_{-0.09}~\text{(VLTI)},-0.04^{+0.09}_{-0.10}~\text{(Keck)}$. The Sgr A* shadow size is within $~10\%$ of the Kerr predictions, providing us with another tool to investigate the nature of strong-field gravity. We use the Sgr A* shadow observables to constrain metrics of four independent and well-motivated, parametrically different from Kerr spacetime, rotating regular spacetimes, and the corresponding no-horizon spacetimes. We present constraints on the deviation parameter $g$ of rotating regular black holes. The shadow angular diameter $θ_{sh}$ within $1 σ$ region, places bounds on the parameters $a$ and $g$. Together with EHT bounds on $θ_{sh}$ and $δ$ of Sgr A*, our analysis concludes that the three rotating regular black holes, viz., Bardeen Hayward, and Simpson-Visser black holes, and corresponding no-horizon spacetimes agree with the EHT results of Sgr A*. Thus, these three rotating regular spacetimes and Kerr black holes are indiscernible in some parameter space, and one can not rule out the possibility of the former being strong candidates for astrophysical black holes.

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arXiv2022

Rotating Black Holes in Horndeski Gravity: Thermodynamic and Gravitational Lensing

The lack of rotating black holes, typically found in nature, hinders testing modified gravity from astrophysical observations. We present the axially symmetric counterpart of an existing spherical hairy black hole in Horndeski gravity having an additional deviation parameter $Q$, which encompasses the Kerr black hole as a particular case ($Q=0$). We investigate the effect of Horndeski parameter $Q$ on the rotating black holes' geometry and analytically deduce the gravitational deflection angle of light in the weak-field limit. For the S2 source star, the deflection angle for the Sgr A* model of the rotating Horndeski gravity black hole for both prograde and retrograde photons is larger than the Kerr black hole values. We show how parameter $Q$ could be constrained by astrophysical implications of the lensing of this object. The thermodynamic quantities, Komar mass, and Komar angular momentum gets corrected by the parameter $Q$, but the Smarr relation $M_{\text{eff}}=2ST+2ΩJ_{\text{eff}}$ still holds at the event horizon.

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arXiv2022

Bardeen Black Holes in the Regularized $4D$ Einstein--Gauss--Bonnet Gravity

We obtain exact Bardeen black holes to the regularized $4D$ Einstein--Gauss--Bonnet (EGB) gravity minimally coupled with the nonlinear electrodynamics (NED). In turn, we analyze the horizon structure to determine the effect of GB parameter $α$ on the minimum cutoff values of mass, $M_0$, and magnetic monopole charge, $g_0$, for the existence of a black hole horizon. We obtain an exact expression for thermodynamic quantities, namely, Hawking temperature $T_+$, entropy $S_+$, Helmholtz free energy $F_+$, and specific heat $C_+$ associated with the black hole horizon, and they show significant deviations from the $4D$ EGB case owing to NED. Interestingly, there exists a critical value of horizon radius, $r_+^{c}$, corresponding to the local maximum of Hawking temperature, at which heat capacity diverges, confirming the second-order phase transition. A discussion on the black holes of alternate regularized $4D$ EGB gravity belonging to the scalar-tensor theory is appended.

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arXiv2021

Field sources for Simpson-Visser space-times

Simpson-Visser (SV) space-times are the simplest globally regular modifications of the Schwarzschild, Reissner-Nordstrom and other blak-hole solutions of general relativity. They smoothly interpolate between these black holes and traversable wormholes. After a brief presentation of the Schwarzschild-like and Reissner-Nordstrom-like SV geometries, including their Carter-Penrose diagrams, we show that any static, spherically symmetric SV metric can be obtained as an exact solution to the Einstein field equations sourced by a combination of a minimally coupled phantom scalar field with a nonzero potential $V(ϕ)$ and a magnetic field in the framework of nonlinear electrodynamics with the Lagrangian $\mathcal {L(F)}$, $\mathcal{F} = F_{μν} F^{μν}$ (in standard notations). Explicit forms of $V(ϕ)$ and $\mathcal {L(F)}$ are presented for the cases of Schwarzschild-like and Reissner-Nordstrom-like SV metrics.

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