GYOTO: a new general relativistic ray-tracing code

TL;DR

GYOTO is an open-source, modular ray-tracing code capable of simulating images and trajectories near compact objects in various relativistic metrics, supporting both analytical and numerical spacetime models.

Contribution

It introduces a flexible, user-friendly ray-tracing tool that handles arbitrary metrics in general relativity, enabling detailed simulations of astrophysical phenomena near compact objects.

Findings

Successfully simulated images of a moving star and accretion torus.

Demonstrated compatibility with analytical and numerical metrics.

Code is open source and easily extendable.

Abstract

GYOTO, a general relativistic ray-tracing code, is presented. It aims at computing images of astronomical bodies in the vicinity of compact objects, as well as trajectories of massive bodies in relativistic environments. This code is capable of integrating the null and timelike geodesic equations not only in the Kerr metric, but also in any metric computed numerically within the 3+1 formalism of general relativity. Simulated images and spectra have been computed for a variety of astronomical targets, such as a moving star or a toroidal accretion structure. The underlying code is open source and freely available. It is user-friendly, quickly handled and very modular so that extensions are easy to integrate. Custom analytical metrics and astronomical targets can be implemented in C++ plug-in extensions independent from the main code.