No abstract

In this paper, we derive the solutions of orbit equations for a class of naked singularity spacetimes, and compare these with timelike orbits, that is, particle trajectories in the Schwarzschild black hole spacetime. The Schwarzschild and naked singularity spacetimes considered here can be formed as end state of a spherically symmetric gravitational collapse of a matter cloud. We find and compare the perihelion precession of the particle orbits in the naked singularity spacetime with that of the Schwarzschild black hole. We then discuss different distinguishable physical properties of timelike orbits in the black hole and naked singularity spacetimes and implications are discussed. Several interesting differences follow from our results, including the conclusion that in naked singularity spacetimes, particle bound orbits can precess in the opposite direction of particle motion, which is not possible in Schwarzschild spacetime.

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.

While the event horizon of a black hole could cast a shadow that was observed recently, a central singularity without horizon could also give rise to such a feature. This leaves us with a question on the nature of the supermassive black holes at the galactic centers, and if they admit an event horizon necessarily. We point out that observations of motion of stars around the galactic center should give a clear idea of the nature of this central supermassive object. We examine and discuss here recent developments that indicate intriguing behavior of the star motions that could possibly distinguish the existence or otherwise of an event horizon at the galactic center. We compare the motion of the S2 star with these theoretical results, fitting the observational data with theory, and it is seen that the star motions and precession of their orbits around the galactic center provide important clues on the nature of this central compact object.

It is now known that the shadow is not only the property of a black hole, it can also be cast by other compact objects like, naked singularities. However, there exist some novel features of the shadow of the naked singularities which are elaborately discussed in some recent articles. In the earlier literature, it is also shown that a naked singularity may admit negative precession of bound timelike orbits which cannot be seen in Schwarzschild and Kerr black hole spacetimes. This distinguishable behaviour of timelike bound orbit in the presence of the naked singularity along with the novel features of the shadow may be useful to distinguish between a black hole and a naked singularity observationally. However, in this paper, it is shown that deformed Kerr spacetime can allow negative precession of bound timelike orbits, when the central singularity of that spacetime is naked. We also show that negative precession and shadow both can exist simultaneously in deformed Kerr naked singularity spacetime. Therefore, any observational evidence of negative precession of bound orbits, along with the central shadow may indicate the presence of a deformed Kerr naked singularity.