Optical Appearance of the Kerr-Bertotti-Robinson Black Hole with a Magnetically Driven Synchrotron Emissivity Model

TL;DR

This study models the optical appearance of Kerr-Bertotti-Robinson black holes using a magnetically driven synchrotron emissivity, revealing how spin, magnetic field, and observer angle affect observable features.

Contribution

It introduces a magnetically driven synchrotron emissivity model for Kerr-BR black holes, moving beyond phenomenological power-law assumptions.

Findings

ISCO position is affected by both spin and magnetic parameter.

Rapid prograde rotation can create an inner cutoff where the emissivity model breaks down.

Higher-order photon rings are distinguishable and brightness asymmetries are influenced by Doppler effects.

Abstract

We investigate the optical appearance of a Kerr-Bertotti-Robinson (Kerr-BR) black hole illuminated by a geometrically and optically thin accretion disk. Instead of using a phenomenological power-law emissivity, we adopt a magnetically driven synchrotron emissivity proxy coupled to the local electromagnetic environment. With a backward ray-tracing framework, we examine the effects of the spin $a$, magnetic parameter $B$, and observer inclination $\theta_O$ on the ray-classification maps, redshift distributions, and specific-intensity images. We show that the ISCO position is modified by both $a$ and $B$, and that rapidly rotating prograde configurations can develop an additional model-dependent inner cutoff when the magnetically dominated approximation underlying the emissivity prescription ceases to be applicable. High-resolution one-dimensional intensity profiles further separate the direct image, the $n=1$ lensing-ring contribution, and the higher-order $n\geq 2$ photon-ring subimages, while quantifying the Doppler-induced brightness asymmetry. Retrograde disks exhibit a wider emission-depleted central region because of the outwardly shifted ISCO, making the higher-order lensed components more clearly distinguishable from the direct emission. These results show that the disk inner boundary and the magnetic-field-dependent emissivity can substantially influence the observable appearance of Kerr-BR black holes.