Probing Modified Gravity Theories with Scalar Fields Using Black-Hole Images

Abstract

We study a number of well-motivated theories of modified gravity with the common overarching theme that they predict the existence of compact objects, such as black holes and wormholes endowed with scalar hair. We compute the shadow radius of the resulting compact objects and demonstrate that black hole images, such as that of M87* or the more recent SgrA* by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, could provide a powerful way to constrain deviations of the metric functions from what is expected from general relativity (GR) solutions. We focus our attention on Einstein-scalar-Gauss–Bonnet (EsGB) theory with three well-motivated couplings, including the dilatonic and Z2 symmetric cases. We then analyze the shadow radius of black holes in the context of the spontaneous scalarization scenario within EsGB theory with an additional coupling to the Ricci scalar (EsRGB). Finally, we turn our attention to spontaneous scalarization in the Einstein–Maxwell-Scalar (EMS) theory and demonstrate the impact of the parameters on the black hole shadow. Our results show that black hole imaging is an important tool for constraining black holes with scalar hair, and, for some part of the parameter space, black hole solutions with scalar hair may be marginally favored compared to solutions of GR.