Testing the Kerr metric with X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy of Mrk 335 Suzaku data

TL;DR

This study tests the Kerr metric in the strong gravity regime using X-ray reflection spectroscopy of Mrk 335, constraining deviations from Kerr and supporting the Kerr black hole hypothesis.

Contribution

First application of a hybrid absorption and reflection model to high-flux Mrk 335 Suzaku data for testing Kerr metric deviations.

Findings

Constraints on Johannsen deformation parameters: -1.5<α13<0.6, -0.4<α22<2.1.

Black hole spin parameter constrained to a*>0.8 and >0.7.

Results consistent with the Kerr metric describing the supermassive black hole.

Abstract

Einstein's gravity has undergone extensive tests in the weak field gravitational limit, with results in agreement with theoretical predictions. There exist theories beyond general relativity (GR) which modify gravity in the strong field regime but agree with GR in the weak field. Astrophysical black holes are believed to be described by the Kerr metric and serve as suitable candidates to test strong gravity with electromagnetic radiation. We perform such a test by fitting one Suzaku dataset of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Mrk 335 with X-ray reflection spectroscopy, using the Johannsen metric to model the black hole spacetime and test for deviations from Kerr. We find the data is best modeled with a hybrid model that includes both partial covering absorption and a reflection component. This is the first time such a model has been proposed for a high-flux (low reflection) Mrk 335 dataset. We constrain the Johannsen deformation parameter $\alpha_{13}$ to $-1.5<\alpha_{13}<0.6$ with spin parameter $a_{*}>0.8$, and the $\alpha_{22}$ parameter to $-0.4<\alpha_{22}<2.1$ with $a_{*}>0.7$, both at the 99% confidence level. Although additional solutions at large deviations from the Kerr metric show statistical similarity with the ones above, further analysis suggests these solutions may be manifestations of uncertainties beyond our control and do not represent the data. Hence, our results are in agreement with the idea that the supermassive compact object at the center of Mrk 335 is described by the Kerr metric.