Frame-dragging induced asymmetry in the bending of light near a Kerr black hole

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how frame-dragging effects in Kerr black holes cause asymmetry in light bending, providing exact analytical expressions for the deflection angle on the equatorial plane.

Contribution

It presents an exact analytical expression for light deflection in Kerr spacetime, highlighting the asymmetry caused by frame-dragging effects.

Findings

Asymmetry in light bending due to black hole spin

Exact analytical expression for Kerr black hole lensing

Frame-dragging effects significantly influence light trajectories

Abstract

The deflection of light's trajectory has been studied in many different spacetime geometries in weak and strong gravity, including the special cases of spherically symmetric static and spinning black holes. It is also well known that the rotation of massive objects results in the dragging of inertial frames in the spacetime geometry. We present here a discussion of the asymmetry that appears explicitly in the exact analytical expression for the bending angle of light on the equatorial plane of the spinning, or Kerr, black hole.