Black holes in general relativity
Abstract
What is going on (as of August 2008) at the interface between theoretical general relativity, string-inspired models, and observational astrophysics? Quite a lot. In this mini-survey I will make a personal choice and focus on four specific questions: Do black holes "exist"? (For selected values of the word "exist".) Is black hole formation and evaporation unitary? Can one mimic a black hole to arbitrary accuracy? Can one detect the presence of a horizon using local physics?
Cite
@article{arxiv.0901.4365,
title = {Black holes in general relativity},
author = {Matt Visser},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0901.4365},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
V1: 16 pages; 7 figures; Introductory survey talk at the workshop: "Black Holes in General Relativity and String Theory", 24-30 August, 2008, Veli Losinj, Croatia; V2: Some clarifying comments added regarding horizon detection (section 5), two references added, two figures condensed to halve the size of the final PDF file. Now 17 pages. V3: one additional reference