Compact objects with spin parameter $a_* > 1$

Abstract

In 4-dimensional General Relativity, black holes are described by the Kerr solution and are completely specified by their mass $M$ and by their spin angular momentum $J$. A fundamental limit for a black hole in General Relativity is the Kerr bound $|a_*| \le 1$, where $a_* = J/M^2$ is the spin parameter. Future experiments will be able to probe the geometry around these objects and test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. Interestingly, if these objects are not black holes, the accretion process may spin them up to $a_* > 1$.

4 pages, 1 figure. Talk given at "46th Rencontres de Moriond: Gravitational Waves and Experimental Gravity", 20 - 27 March 2011, La Thuile, Aosta, Italy. To appear in the conference proceedings