Topic of Research Seminar: Effect of Plasma Particles on the Shadow of Black Hole

Abstract: A Schwarzschild black hole’s shadow is affected by a fully ionized hydrogen plasma around it via two different processes: refraction from the optical characteristics of the plasma and the gravitational pull from the mass-energy distribution of the plasma. Within a single relativistic framework, two independent parameters are introduced to analytically separate these contributions. The gravitational correction, although usually subdominant, can exceed refractive deflection in some regimes for astrophysical plausible plasma densities, resulting in detectable variations in the shadow radius. Significant variations in the ways that each mechanism distorts light propagation are revealed by examining extreme parameter choices in order to better understand these effects. The findings provide a methodical way to separate the gravitational and refractive effects of plasma in forthcoming black hole shadow observations.

Subject Field of Topic: General Relativity

Name of Speaker: Mr. Furqan Nazeer

Professorial Rank of Speaker: PhD Scholar (Mathematics Dpt.) SNS – NUST

Email of Speaker: [email protected]

University Profile weblink: NUST School of Natural Sciences (NUST-SNS)

Date and Venue: (Wednesday) 14 May 2025, 03:30 pm, Room # 303, Old Building, School of Natural Sciences (SNS), NUST Islamabad