Measurements of Black Hole Spins and Tests of Strong-Field General Relativity
نویسنده
چکیده
Fast variability studies of accreting black holes in the Galaxy offer us a unique opportunity to measure the spins of black holes and test the strong-field behavior of general relativity. In this review, I summarize the arguments often used in attempts of measuring the spins of black holes, concentrating on their theoretical foundations. I also argue that X-ray studies of accreting black holes will be able to provide in the future strong constraints on deviations from general relativity in the strong-field regime.
منابع مشابه
Cosmological Black Hole Spin Evolution by Mergers and Accretion
Using recent results from numerical relativity simulations of black hole mergers, we revisit previous studies of cosmological black hole spin evolution. We show that mergers are very unlikely to yield large spins, unless alignment of the spins of the merging holes with the orbital angular momentum is very efficient. We analyze the spin evolution in three specific scenarios: (1) spin evolves onl...
متن کاملProbes and Tests of Strong-Field Gravity with Observations in the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Neutron stars and black holes are the astrophysical systems with the strongest gravitational fields in the universe. In this article, I review the prospect of using observations of such compact objects to probe some of the most intriguing general relativistic predictions in the strong-field regime: the absence of stable circular orbits near a compact object and the presence of event horizons ar...
متن کاملThe evolution of circular, non-equatorial orbits of Kerr black holes due to gravitational-wave emission
An outstanding problem in general relativity is the evolution of binary systems with strong gravity and compact bodies. Although post-Newtonian approximations very successfully describe the evolution of such binaries when the bodies are widely separated [1], no approximation schemes work well when the bodies are close: in general, there is no small parameter that can be used to develop any appr...
متن کاملGravitational wave tests of general relativity with the parameterized post-Einsteinian framework
Citation Cornish, Neil et al. " Gravitational wave tests of general relativity with the parameterized post-Einsteinian framework. Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your ...
متن کاملMaximum black-hole spin from quasicircular binary mergers
Black holes of mass M must have a spin angular momentum S below the Kerr limit ( S=M 1), but whether astrophysical black holes can attain this limiting spin depends on their accretion history. Gas accretion from a thin disk limits the black-hole spin to gas & 0:9980 0:0002, as electromagnetic radiation from this disk with retrograde angular momentum is preferentially absorbed by the black hole....
متن کامل