Related papers: Introduction to black holes
Black holes, an extreme consequence of the mathematics of General Relativity, have long been suspected of being the prime movers of quasars, which emit more energy than any other objects in the Universe. Recent evidence indicates that…
Quantum entanglement lies at the heart of quantum information theory, with applications to quantum computing, teleportation, cryptography and communication. In the apparently separate world of quantum gravity, the Hawking effect of…
Classical black holes and event horizons are highly non-local objects, defined in relation to the causal past of future null infinity. Alternative, quasilocal characterizations of black holes are often used in mathematical, quantum, and…
This chapter briefly discusses the fundamental properties of black holes in general relativity, the discovery of astrophysical black holes and their main astronomical observations, how X-ray and $\gamma$-ray facilities can study these…
Given the great interest that black holes arouse among non-specialists, it is important to analyse misconceptions related to them. According to the author, the most common misconceptions are that: (1) black holes are formed from stellar…
Supermassive black holes have generally been recognized as the most destructive force in nature. But in recent years, they have undergone a dramatic shift in paradigm. These objects may have been critical to the formation of structure in…
Black holes were predicted by Einstein General Relativity (GR). Because of unusual properties of these objects their existence is almost unbelievable. There are gravitation theories which do not predict the black hole appearance. By now,…
Accretion onto black holes is one of the most efficient energy source in the Universe. Black hole accretion powers some of the most luminous objects in the universe, including quasars, active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events,…
Astronomers have certainly observed things that are small, dark, and heavy. But are these objects really black holes in the sense of general relativity? The consensus opinion is simply "yes", and there is very little "wriggle room". We…
Bound inside rotating or charged black holes, there are stable periodic planetary orbits, which neither come out nor terminate at the central singularity. Stable periodic orbits inside black holes exist even for photons. These bound orbits…
If TeV-scale gravity describes nature, black holes will be produced in particle accelerators, perhaps even with impressive rates at the Large Hadron Collider. Their decays, largely via the Hawking process, will be spectacular. Black holes…
Are black holes elementary particles? Are they fermions or bosons? We investigate the remarkable possibility that quantum black holes are the smallest and heaviest elementary particles. We are able to construct various fundamental quantum…
Supermassive black holes are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies. Observations have revealed us vast information on the population of local and distant black holes, but the detailed physical properties of these dark massive…
Black holes are capable of reflection: there is a finite probability for any particle that approaches the event horizon to bounce back. The albedo of the black hole depends on its temperature and the energy of the incoming particle. The…
Black holes are among the most well-known astrophysical objects, yet their physical realisation remains conceptually subtle. We analyse physical black holes -- light-trapping regions that form in finite time as seen by a distant observer --…
A succinct summary is given of the problem of reconciling observation of black hole-like objects with quantum mechanics. If quantum black holes behave like subsystems, and also decay, their information must be transferred to their…
Perturbations around black holes have been an intriguing topic in the last few decades. They are particularly important today, since they relate to the gravitational wave observations which may provide the unique fingerprint of black holes'…
Black holes are probably among the most fascinating objects populating our universe. Their characteristic features found within general relativity, encompassing spacetime singularities, event horizons, and black hole thermodynamics, provide…
This is a brief introduction to quantum aspects of black holes, addressed at an astrophysics-oriented audience. The topics are: The laws of black-hole mechanics, Hawking radiation, interpretation of entropy, and primordial black holes.
I review elements of the foundations of black-hole theory with attention to problematic issues, and describe some techniques which either seem to help with the difficulties or at least investigate their scope. The definition of black holes…