We investigate the optical properties of a rotating black hole immersed in a Hernquist dark matter halo. The spacetime is generated from a static Hernquist black hole through the noncomplexification version of the Newman-Janis procedure, yielding a Kerr-like geometry whose halo contribution is encoded in the radial function $Δ(r)$ \cite{AraujoFilho:2026hernquist}. We derive the null geodesic equations, effective potentials, radial acceleration, and representative three-dimensional photon trajectories around the event horizon and ergoregion. Using the separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, we obtain the critical impact parameters of unstable spherical photon orbits and construct the shadow contours for a distant observer. The rotation parameter mainly shifts and distorts the shadow, whereas the Hernquist halo enlarges the photon capture region and increases the apparent shadow size. Comparing the area-equivalent shadow diameter with the Event Horizon Telescope measurements of Sgr A$^\ast$ and M87$^\ast$, we constrain the dimensionless halo parameter $\hatρ=M^2ρ$. The strongest restriction comes from Sgr A$^\ast$, giving $\hatρ\sim(2.7-3.8)\times10^{-3}$ at $1σ$ and $\hatρ\sim(4.1-5.2)\times10^{-3}$ at $2σ$. We also analyze strong- and weak-field gravitational lensing. In the strong-field regime, the halo shifts the unstable photon orbit and critical impact parameter, controlling the logarithmic deflection angle and the position of relativistic images. In the weak-field regime, the halo contributes already to the leading bending angle and enhances deviations from Kerr as $ρ$ grows. From the Einstein ring of ESO325-G004, we further obtain $0\leq\hatρ\lesssim0.00939$ at $1σ$ and $0\leq\hatρ\lesssim0.01963$ at $2σ$. less

Direct waves from black-hole mergers may probe horizon dynamics, but their observed envelopes need not decay at the Kerr surface-gravity rate. We compute the complex-frequency spin-$-2$, $\ell=m=2$ Teukolsky response driven by a redshift-stretched near-horizon source. Through Kerr screening and source convolution, the calculation maps the local surface-gravity scale $κ$ into the finite-window envelope damping $γ_{\rm eff}$ measured at infinity. For GW250114, this calculation gives $γ_{\rm eff}/κ\simeq0.6$, or $γ_{\rm eff}\simeq0.4~{\rm ms}^{-1}$, consistent with QNM-subtracted residuals and a joint H1--L1 residual analysis. An instantaneous-source control recovers the impulse-response damping near $κ$, whereas finite-duration plunge-source, test-particle and radial-normalized source realizations give $γ_{\rm eff}<κ$. A residual-level check in GW231226 favours the same finite-window damping prediction. These results identify direct-wave envelope damping as a horizon-redshift transfer observable rather than a direct measurement of surface gravity. less

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will search for a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background at millihertz frequencies, from both astrophysical and cosmological sources, and thereby open a new chapter in GW astronomy. In the literature, LISA's sensitivity to prospective GW background (GWB) signals is often quantified in terms of an expected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) assuming perfect knowledge of the detector noise. The commonly employed expression for the SNR is, however, valid only in the limit of a weak GWB signal, which renders a large number of SNR values reported in the literature inaccurate. In this paper, we address this issue by deriving for the first time an expression for the expected optimal SNR of a LISA auto-correlation measurement that is valid at arbitrary signal strength. Based on our generalized expression, we conclude that LISA data worth an observing time of T_obs across the frequency band from f_min to f_max will never yield an SNR in excess of SNR_max = sqrt(T_obs(f_max-f_min)), which evaluates to SNR_max <~ 10^4 for typical mission parameters. We illustrate our findings in terms of generalized power-law-integrated (PLI) sensitivity curves at different SNR levels, i.e., LISA SNR contour lines in plots of the GW energy-density power spectrum. In contrast to earlier work on PLI sensitivity curves, we notably find that the LISA SNR contours are bounded from above, approximately by the LISA strain noise curve multiplied by a factor of Euler's number e. For GWB signals not much weaker than this range, the expected SNR for a LISA auto-correlation measurement needs to be evaluated based on our new expression. Our numerical results for the LISA SNR contours are available on Zenodo [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21275527]. less

Regular black holes in Horndeski theories must have stable horizons and regular centers. We study static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat configurations with a time-independent scalar. The horizon branch on which the scalar kinetic term $X$ remains nonzero is generically obstructed by divergent propagation speeds or ghost/gradient instabilities, aside from special degeneracies. On the regular branch, where $X$ vanishes at the horizon, analyticity at the relevant $X=0$ endpoints reduces the leading scalar equation to finite sets of Taylor coefficients. For nondegenerate shift-symmetric theories this gives a nonperturbative current no-hair theorem: the scalar is constant and the metric is Schwarzschild, hence centrally singular for nonzero ADM mass. For non-shift-symmetric positive-power couplings, the corresponding exclusion applies to the perturbative branch continuously connected to Schwarzschild. We also classify marginal nonanalytic departures: covariant regularity fixes the scalar-Gauss-Bonnet chain as the unique marginal nonanalytic completion. Hairy black holes in this completion evade the analytic current step but remain centrally singular. less

We present a general construction of charged regular black holes as solutions of a generalization of the Einstein--Maxwell field equations in spherical symmetry in which the Einstein tensor is deformed into an identically conserved tensor containing up to second derivatives of the gravitational field. The generality of the construction allows us to define the field equations satisfied by generic regular black holes when becoming charged. The conditions that guarantee regularity of charged solutions are evaluated and shown to be more stringent than the regularity conditions for uncharged solutions. This implies, in particular, that the charged versions of the Bardeen and Hayward black holes become singular. Improved versions of the Bardeen and Hayward metrics that remain regular when charged are proposed. Our results indicate that regularizing the vacuum solutions of general relativity is, in general, not enough to yield regular solutions in other situations of physical interest. The implications that follow for the construction of realistic regular black holes, in which aspects such as rotation and the presence of matter fields are taken into account, are discussed. less

The detection of transient gravitational wave signals relies on independent search algorithms that analyse detector data and assign significance measures to candidate events. However, varying performance complicates their interpretation. We use supervised machine learning combined with conformal prediction, a framework to quantify uncertainties, to merge multi-pipeline information into well-calibrated confidence scores. We demonstrate that this approach is robust across different classifier architectures and remains stable when trained on different simulated datasets. When applied to events across the GWTC catalogue up to and including the second part of the fourth observing run, the framework identifies several subthreshold candidates with elevated confidence, including the binary neutron star candidate GW200311_103121. We examine the reliability of these up-rankings, finding evidence that high-confidence predictions correspond to signal-like events. This framework enables simplified systematic candidate assessment for gravitational wave catalogues and real-time alerts by providing a single, well-calibrated confidence measure per candidate. less

We investigate the stability of scalarized black holes in Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet-Ricci theory along their fundamental branches. We show that initially stable solutions first lose nonspherical stability in the eikonal regime, while lower multipoles remain stable. As the branch is continued, instability extends systematically toward lower multipoles, forming an ordered hierarchy of deformation instabilities extending down to the quadrupole mode, while the dipole sector remains stable. The instability thresholds obey a common scaling law and approach finite eikonal limits, defining the boundary of the angularly stable region. We demonstrate that the previously identified quadrupole and angular-Laplacian instabilities are connected by a continuous hierarchy of instability thresholds spanning the angular sectors of the theory. This hierarchy is distinct from radial stability, which changes only at branch turning points, and reveals a previously unexplored angular organization of instabilities in scalarized black holes. less

Finding rotating black hole solutions in higher-curvature theories of gravity is a problem of fundamental importance. Virtually every approach to reconcile gravity with quantum mechanics predicts corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action, yet no systematic solution-generating method exists for the stationary sector. We close this gap with {\sc Akribeia}, a novel hybrid framework that pairs physics-informed neural networks with a pseudo-spectral refinement step, yielding certified neural-field rotating black hole solutions -- continuous, globally defined functions, parametric in the coupling constants -- whose residuals against the field equations are verified to extreme precision. We apply the method to theories quadratic and cubic in the curvature and construct, for the first time, families of rotating black holes featuring multiple non-vanishing angular momenta, parametric in the new coupling constants. After validating against previously known five-dimensional spacetimes, we present new solutions in scenarios leading to a highly non-linear/non-perturbative coupled system of ordinary differential equations. Our method can be systematically adapted to other setups involving partial differential equations as well. less

Recent studies have identified a new component in black-hole ringdown from merging binaries, termed the \emph{direct wave}. This component was argued to be tied to the dynamical source evolution near the black-hole horizon, and thus to encode horizon information. Yet a firm theoretical foundation for the direct wave has been lacking. Here we fill this gap by deriving direct waves from first principles in Schwarzschild spacetime, using the causal structure of the Green's function. We show that the direct wave does not vanish and is governed by the near-horizon source dynamics. Our results establish a theoretical basis for direct waves as a probe of near-horizon dynamics, complementary to quasinormal modes. less