Rotating black hole shadows in metric-affine bumblebee gravity

TL;DR

This paper studies how Lorentz symmetry breaking in a modified gravity model affects black hole shadow shapes, revealing distinctive observational signatures that could be detected by telescopes like the EHT.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of black hole shadows in metric-affine bumblebee gravity, highlighting the impact of Lorentz-violating parameters on shadow morphology.

Findings

Increased Lorentz-violating coefficient X causes shadow flattening and teardrop shapes.

Shadow asymmetries are influenced by the rotation parameter and Lorentz violation.

Distinctive shadow features could serve as observational tests for Lorentz symmetry breaking.

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the structure of black hole shadows in the bumblebee gravity model formulated within the metric-affine framework, which incorporates spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking (LSB) through a vector field $B_\mu$ with a non-zero vacuum expectation value. We analyze the influence of the dimensionless rotation parameter $a = J/M$ and the Lorentz-violating (LV) coefficient $X = \xi b^2$ on the photon sphere radius, the critical impact parameter, and the shadow morphology. Using ray-tracing simulations with the GYOTO code and accretion disks, we observe that increasing values of $X$ induce progressive vertical flattening, asymmetric ``teardrop''-shaped deformations, and local collapse of the lower silhouette region, interacting with the rotational Doppler effect. These anisotropic signatures distinguish the bumblebee model from the standard Kerr metric and provide observational tests for LSB effects in strong gravity regimes, potentially detectable by the Event Horizon Telescope in sources such as M87* and Sgr A*.