Related papers: Quasi-stars and the Sch\"onberg-Chandrasekhar limi…
The existence of bright quasars at high redshifts implies that supermassive black holes were able to form in the early Universe. Though a number of mechanisms to achieve this have been proposed, none yet stands out. A recent suggestion is…
The Sch\"onberg-Chandrasekhar (SC) limit is a well-established result in the understanding of stellar evolution. It provides an estimate of the point at which an evolved isothermal core embedded in an extended envelope begins to contract.…
We study the structure and evolution of "quasistars", accreting black holes embedded within massive hydrostatic gaseous envelopes. These configurations may model the early growth of supermassive black hole seeds. The accretion rate onto the…
Observations by JWST have confirmed the presence of supermassive black holes (BHs) at redshifts $z\gtrsim10$, lending support to scenarios in which BHs experience rapid growth through intense gas accretion. Here we investigate the growth of…
JWST observations demonstrate that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) exist by redshifts $z \gtrsim 10$, providing further evidence for "direct collapse" black hole (BH) formation, whereby massive ($\sim 10^{3-5} M_{\odot}$) SMBH seeds are…
A Buchdahl star is a highly compact star for which the boundary radius $R$ obeys $R=\frac98 r_+$, where $r_+$ is the gravitational radius of the star itself. A quasiblack hole is a maximum compact star, or more generically a maximum compact…
Supermassive stars, with masses greater than a million solar masses, are possible progenitors of supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei. Because of their short nuclear burning timescales, such objects can be formed only when matter is…
Supermassive black hole formation remains an unsolved problem. Quasi-stars have been suggested as a viable heavy-seeding mechanism. In this work, we implement methods for modeling quasi-stars previously used with the Cambridge STARS code…
Supermassive stars and quasi-stars (massive stars with a central black hole) are both considered as potential progenitors for the formation of supermassive black holes. They are expected to form from rapidly accreting protostars in massive…
The origin of the first supermassive black holes (SMBHs) observed at redshifts $z\geq 9$ remains one of the most challenging open questions in astrophysics. Their rapid emergence suggests that massive ``heavy seeds'' must have formed early,…
Supermassive black holes are a key ingredient of galaxy evolution. However, their origin is still highly debated. In one of the leading formation scenarios, a black hole of $\sim100$ M$_{\odot}$ results from the collapse of the inner core…
One of the fundamental questions about quasars is related to their central supermassive black holes. The reason for the existence of these black holes with such a huge mass is still unclear and various models have been proposed to explain…
We argue that the "Little Red Dots" (LRDs) discovered with the James Webb Space Telescope are quasi-stars in their late stages of evolution. Quasi-stars are hypothetical objects predicted to form following the core collapse of supermassive…
We consider a scenario where supermassive black holes form through direct accumulation of gas at the centre of proto-galaxies. In the first stage, the accumulated gas forms a super-massive star whose core collapses when the nuclear fuel is…
We explore the cosmic evolution of massive black hole (MBH) seeds forming within 'quasistars' (QSs), accreting black holes embedded within massive hydrostatic gaseous envelopes. These structures could form if the infall of gas into the…
Quasars are widely believed to be powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes and there is now considerable evidence for a link between mergers, quasars and the formation of spheroids. Cattaneo, Haehnelt & Rees (1999) have…
Supermassive black holes are now realized to exist in the centers of most galaxies. The recent discoveries of luminous quasars at redshifts higher than 6 require that these black holes were assembled already when the Universe was less than…
We show that dark stars, which are dark-matter-powered stars in the early universe, can grow by accretion to masses in the range $\mathscr{O}\left ({10}^4\right )-\mathscr{O}\left ({10}^7\right)\,{M_\odot}$ before the general-relativistic…
I present an elementary primer of black hole physics, including its general relativity basis, all peppered with astrophysical illustrations. Following a brief review of the process stellar collapse to a black hole, I discuss the…
Perturbations of stars and black holes have been one of the main topics of relativistic astrophysics for the last few decades. They are of particular importance today, because of their relevance to gravitational wave astronomy. In this…