Speaker
Description
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) recently enabled imaging two supermassive black holes, M87 and Sagittarius A*, with the near event horizon scale resolution. Since the observed emission originates very close to the black hole, where trajectories of photons are subject to large deflection related to spacetime curvature, we can use these observations to test gravity in the strong regime. However, there are important limitations related to astrophysical uncertainties that have to be carefully addressed before unlocking precise constraints on the theory of gravity or on the nature of the central supermassive compact object. In this talk I will present the current landscape of using EHT's black hole images to test gravity, current constraints, caveats, as well as some potential future improvements and research avenues.