Testing the Kerr Paradigm with the Black Hole Shadow

Abstract

Within 5-10 years, submillimeter VLBI facilities will be hopefully able to image the "shadow" of SgrA${}^{\ast }$. When a black hole is surrounded by an optically thin emitting medium, the boundary of the shadow corresponds to the apparent photon capture sphere and only depends on the background metric. An accurate determination of the shape of the shadow of SgrA${}^{\ast }$ could constrain possible deviations from the Kerr solution. In combination with other measurements, these observations could test the Kerr black hole paradigm.

6 pages, 3 figures. Talk given at the "14th Marcel Grossmann Meeting" (12-18 July 2015, Rome, Italy). To appear in the conference proceedings

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