Related papers: Introduction to black holes
This essay gives a very general introduction to Schwarzschild black holes. First, it focuses on some of its classical features as solutions to Einstein's theory of gravity. In the second part it discusses briefly some specific quantum…
Very compact objects probe extreme gravitational fields and may be the key to understand outstanding puzzles in fundamental physics. These include the nature of dark matter, the fate of spacetime singularities, or the loss of unitarity in…
Black holes, initially thought of as very interesting geometric constructions of nature, over time, have learnt to (often) come up with surprises and challenges. From the era of being described as merely some interesting and exotic…
Recent developments have ushered in a new era in the field of black hole astrophysics, providing our first direct view of the remarkable environment near black hole event horizons. These observations have enabled astronomers to confirm…
We give a review of classical, thermodynamic and quantum properties of black holes relevant to fundamental physics.
Collapsed objects have definitely been observed: some are stellar-mass objects, the endpoint of massive stars; others, millions of times more massive, have been discovered in the cores of most galaxies. Their formation poses some…
Black holes harbor a spacetime singularity of infinite curvature, where classical spacetime physics breaks down, and current theory cannot predict what will happen. However, the singularity is invisible from the outside because strong…
In this review, I have tried to focus on the development of the field, from the first speculations to the current lines of research. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, black holes are relatively simple objects and…
The article summarizes the observational evidence for the existence of massive black holes, as well as the current knowledge about their abundance, their mass and spin distributions, and their cosmic evolution within and together with their…
Gravity warps space and time into a funnel and generates a black hole when a cosmic body undergoes a catastrophic collapse. What can one say about the interior of a black hole? The important point is that inside a black hole the space…
Recent developments in the study of primordial black holes (PBHs) will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on their formation and evaporation. PBHs could provide a unique probe of the early Universe, gravitational collapse, high energy…
The quantum nature of a black hole is revealed using the simplest terms that one learns in undergraduate and beginning graduate courses. The exposition demonstrates -- vividly -- the importance and power of the quantum oscillator in…
In this small review we present the actual state the knowledge about weighting black holes. Black holes can be found in stellar binary systems in our Galaxy and in other nearby galaxies, in globular clusters, which we can see in our and…
Primordial black holes (PBHs) represent a natural candidate for one of the components of the dark matter (DM) in the Universe. In this review, we shall discuss the basics of their formation, abundance and signatures. Some of their…
The relevant physics for the possible formation of black holes in the LHC is discussed.
Black holes are the ultimate prisons of the Universe, regions of spacetime where the enormous gravity prohibits matter or even light to escape to infinity. Yet, matter falling toward the black holes may shine spectacularly, generating the…
Black and white holes play remarkably contrasting roles in general relativity versus observational astrophysics. While there is overwhelming observational evidence for the existence of compact objects that are "cold, dark, and heavy", which…
Black holes are presumed to have an ideal ability to absorb and keep matter. Whatever comes close to the event horizon, a boundary separating the inside region of a black hole from the outside world, inevitably goes in and remains inside…
Massive black holes are key inhabitants of the nuclei of galaxies. Moreover, their astrophysical relevance has gained significant traction in recent years, thanks especially to the amazing results that are being (or will be) delivered by…
Astrophysical tests of general relativity belong to two categories: 1) "internal", i.e. consistency tests within the theory (for example, tests that astrophysical black holes are indeed described by the Kerr solution and its perturbations),…