Black hole shadows in nonminimally coupled Weyl connection gravity

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Black hole shadows in nonminimally coupled Weyl connection gravity

Authors

Cláudio Gomes, Margarida Lima, Francisco S. N. Lobo, Luís F. D. da Silva

Abstract

We study black hole shadows in nonminimally coupled Weyl connection gravity, a metric-affine extension of general relativity in which spacetime is described by a metric and a Weyl vector field encoding non-metricity. Despite going beyond the Riemannian framework, the presence of a non-dynamical Weyl vector ensures second-order field equations. The theory admits Schwarzschild- and Reissner--Nordström-like solutions modified by a Weyl integration constant that parametrizes deviations from General Relativity. By computing the corresponding shadow radii and confronting them with the Event Horizon Telescope constraints on Sgr A*, we place observational bounds on the Weyl parameter. Assuming an observer distance $r_O = 4.1\times 10^{10}M$ and requiring consistency at the $2σ$ level, we obtain $ω\gtrsim 10^{11.7}M$ (model I), $ω\gtrsim 10^{10.5}M$ (model II), and $ω\sim 10^{12}M$ (model III). Our results show that present horizon-scale imaging already sets meaningful limits on spacetime non-metricity. This work highlights the power of black hole shadow observations as probes of extended gravitational dynamics and establishes a direct link between Weyl-based theories and current astrophysical data.

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