Observational signatures of rotating black holes in the semiclassical gravity with trace anomaly*

Abstract

Abstract In a recent work by Fernandes [Phys. Rev. D 108(6), L061502 (2023)], an exact stationary and axisymmetric solution was discovered in semiclassical gravity with type-A trace anomaly. This was identified as a quantum-corrected version of the Kerr black hole. In this study, we explore the observational signatures of this black hole solution. Our investigation reveals that prograde and retrograde light rings exist, whose radii increase monotonically with the coupling parameter α. When α is negative, the shadow area for the quantum-corrected black hole is smaller than that of the Kerr black hole, whereas when α is positive, the area is larger. For a near-extremal black hole, its high-spin feature (the NHEKline) is found to be highly susceptible to disruption by α. Furthermore, we discuss the images of the quantum-corrected black hole in the presence of a thin accretion disk and compare them to those of the Kerr black hole. Our study highlights the importance of near-horizon emission sources in detecting the effects of quantum corrections by black hole images.