Testing Gravity with Black Hole X-Ray Data

Abstract

The analysis of the properties of the X-ray radiation emitted from geometrically thin accretion disks around black holes can be a powerful tool to test General Relativity in the strong field regime. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art of gravity tests with black hole X-ray data. So far, most efforts have been devoted to test the Kerr hypothesis - namely that the spacetime around astrophysical black holes is described by the Kerr solution - and X-ray data can currently provide among the most stringent constraints on possible deviations from the Kerr geometry. As of now, all X-ray analyses are consistent with the predictions of General Relativity.

arXiv comment35 pages, 13 figures. Chapter for the book "Recent Progress on Gravity Tests" (Eds. C. Bambi and A. Cárdenas-Avendaño, Springer Singapore, expected in 2023). It reviews current X-ray constraints on the Kerr hypothesis and discusses the systematic uncertainties

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