Interferometric signature of higher-order images in a parametrized framework

TL;DR

This paper explores how higher-order gravitational lensing images near black holes produce distinctive interferometric signatures, providing a framework to test general relativity through observable visibility patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a parametrized approach to analyze higher-order images' interferometric signatures, linking spacetime deviations to measurable visibility features.

Findings

Higher-order images create staircase-like visibility patterns.

Visibility step heights and periodicities depend on metric deviations.

Results support using interferometry to test gravitational theories.

Abstract

This paper investigates gravitational lensing in the strong deflection limit, focusing particularly on higher-order images produced near compact objects such as black holes and their observable impact through the visibility function. Employing a robust parametrization framework proposed by Rezzolla and Zhidenko, the study systematically explores deviations from the Schwarzschild metric. A detailed theoretical analysis of interferometric observables is provided, highlighting how higher-order images imprint distinctive, measurable patterns in the visibility function, notably characterized by a staircase-like structure. By parametrically varying metric coefficients, the analysis reveals clear dependencies between spacetime deviations and key observational signatures, specifically the step heights and periodicities in the interferometric visibility. The results enhance the theoretical groundwork for interpreting data from advanced interferometric observations, potentially enabling precise tests of general relativity and the discrimination among alternative gravitational theories.