Gravity/thermodynamics correspondence via black hole shadows

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Wei, Shao-Wen, Liu, Yu-Xiao
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Wei, Shao-Wen
Liu, Yu-Xiao
author_facet Wei, Shao-Wen
Liu, Yu-Xiao
contents The shadow of a black hole serves as a pristine window into the strong-gravity regime, with cuspy feature emerging as a smoking-gun signature of physics beyond the Kerr paradigm. In this paper, we extend the work of [arXiv:2601.15612 [gr-qc]] and study the detailed properties of the cuspy shadow by using the parametric expressions of the shadow boundary. From a topological perspective, we provide a rigorous topological classification of these shadows, categorizing them into distinct ``rectangular" and ``8-shape" topologies. Crucially, we establish a formal gravity/thermodynamics correspondence by mapping the cuspy shadow to the swallowtail behavior observed in thermodynamic free energy. We demonstrate that the self-intersection of the shadow boundary, marking a geometric phase transition, can be precisely determined through three independent but equivalently thermodynamic-like approaches. Furthermore, we analytically derive the critical exponents governing the emergence of these cusps, revealing that they are consistent with the mean-field universality class. Our results suggest that the observational features of black hole shadows are deeply rooted in the underlying gravitational thermodynamics, offering a novel framework to probe the fundamental nature of spacetime.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gravity/thermodynamics correspondence via black hole shadows
Wei, Shao-Wen
Liu, Yu-Xiao
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
The shadow of a black hole serves as a pristine window into the strong-gravity regime, with cuspy feature emerging as a smoking-gun signature of physics beyond the Kerr paradigm. In this paper, we extend the work of [arXiv:2601.15612 [gr-qc]] and study the detailed properties of the cuspy shadow by using the parametric expressions of the shadow boundary. From a topological perspective, we provide a rigorous topological classification of these shadows, categorizing them into distinct ``rectangular" and ``8-shape" topologies. Crucially, we establish a formal gravity/thermodynamics correspondence by mapping the cuspy shadow to the swallowtail behavior observed in thermodynamic free energy. We demonstrate that the self-intersection of the shadow boundary, marking a geometric phase transition, can be precisely determined through three independent but equivalently thermodynamic-like approaches. Furthermore, we analytically derive the critical exponents governing the emergence of these cusps, revealing that they are consistent with the mean-field universality class. Our results suggest that the observational features of black hole shadows are deeply rooted in the underlying gravitational thermodynamics, offering a novel framework to probe the fundamental nature of spacetime.
title Gravity/thermodynamics correspondence via black hole shadows
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.04441