Testing the Nature of Rotating Black Hole Shadows Surrounded by a Thin Accretion Disk within Rastall Gravity

Abstract: We investigate the observational appearance of a rotating black hole (BH) in Rastall gravity by analyzing its shadow and accretion signatures under different illumination environments. The spacetime geometry is characterized by the Rastall parameter $μ$, the structure parameter $γ$, and the rotation parameter $a$. To visualize the BH environment, we employ a ray-tracing algorithm that follows photon trajectories from the observer's screen to the emission region. We analyze how the shadow radius, distortion, and photon ring morphology respond to changes in the spacetime parameters. For a fixed value of $a$, the shadow observables exhibit a pronounced dependence on the Rastall gravity parameters. In particular, increasing the structure parameter $γ$ leads to a gradual enlargement of the shadow radius, indicating an expansion of the photon capture region surrounding the BH. At the same time, the distortion parameter decreases, implying that the shadow boundary becomes progressively more circular and less deformed. These results suggest that larger values of $γ$ tend to suppress the asymmetry induced by rotation and enhance the apparent size of the shadow. Similar modifications are observed for different values of the Rastall parameter $μ$, demonstrating that the combined effects of $μ$ and $γ$ leave distinct signatures on the shadow morphology. Consequently, shadow observations may provide an effective tool for constraining the parameter space of rotating BHs in Rastall gravity.