Observational signatures of negative mass wormholes through their shadows

Abstract Systems containing objects with negative mass (NMOs) are considered. Such a system consists of one object with positive mass and one NMO, where a bound state exists even though the force exerted by the NMO on the object with positive-mass is repulsive. Unlike standard binaries composed of positive-mass objects, the emitted gravitational waves exhibit decreasing frequency and amplitude over time. We propose a model that removes the ghost appearing in the construction of the Ellis–Bronnikov wormhole, a candidate for a NMO. Furthermore, we perform numerical simulations to obtain the optical appearance of such NMOs. The observed luminosity is also compared with the Schwarzschild black hole and with the Simpson–Visser wormhole, revealing clear differences in the photon ring substructure around the central object.