Extracting information on black hole horizons

Abstract

We present some features of Kerr black hole horizons that are replicated on orbits accessible to outside observers. We use the concepts of horizon confinement and replicas to show that outside the outer horizon there exist photon orbits whose frequencies contain information about the inner horizon and that can, in principle, be detected through the emission spectra of black holes. It is shown that such photon orbits exist close to the rotation axis of the Kerr geometry. We argue that these results could be used to recognize and further investigate black holes and their horizons.