Probing the Spacetime Around Supermassive Black Holes with Ejected Plasma Blobs

TL;DR

This paper proposes using millimeter VLBI observations of plasma blobs ejected near supermassive black holes to test general relativity and measure black hole properties like mass and spin.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to analyze plasma blob trajectories and stretching to constrain black hole parameters and test gravitational theories.

Findings

Trajectory analysis can distinguish between different black hole spins.

Tidal stretching measurements provide constraints on black hole mass.

Method offers real-time testing of general relativity near event horizons.

Abstract

Millimeter-wavelength VLBI observations of the supermassive black holes in Sgr A* and M87 by the Event Horizon Telescope could potentially trace the dynamics of ejected plasma blobs in real time. We demonstrate that the trajectory and tidal stretching of these blobs can be used to test general relativity and set new constraints on the mass and spin of these black holes.