Related papers: The first massive black holes
This paper reviews the subject of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) with masses between those of "stellar-mass" and "super-massive" black holes. The existence of IMBHs is a real possibility: they might plausibly have formed as remnants…
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…
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…
There is growing observational evidence for a population of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic bulges. We examine in detail the conditions under which these black holes must have originated from primordial black holes (PBHs). We…
There is a lot of current astrophysical evidence and interest in intermediate mass black holes, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand solar masses. The active galaxy M82 and the globular cluster in M31, for example, are known to…
The detection of quasars at $z>6$ unveils the presence of supermassive black holes (BHs) of a few billion solar masses. The rapid formation process of these extreme objects remains a fascinating and open issue. Such discovery implies that…
Since the beginning of the new millennium, more than 100 $z\sim 6$ quasars have been discovered through several surveys and followed-up with multi-wavelength observations. These data provided a large amount of information on the growth of…
The detection of gravitational waves from mergers of tens of Solar mass black hole binaries has led to a surge in interest in Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) as a dark matter candidate. We aim to provide a (relatively) concise overview of the…
Massive Primordial Black Holes (MPBH) can be formed after inflation due to broad peaks in the primordial curvature power spectrum that collapse gravitationally during the radiation era, to form clusters of black holes that merge and…
We discuss the possibilities for primordial black holes (PBHs) to grow via the accretion of dark matter. In agreement with previous works, we find that accretion during the radiation-dominated era does not lead to a significant mass…
Recently, observational hints for supermassive black holes have been accumulating, which has inspired ones to wonder: Can primordial black holes (PBHs) be supermassive, in particular with the mass $M\gtrsim 10^{9}M_\odot$? A supercritical…
The study of galaxy mergers and supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) is central to our understanding of the galaxy and black hole assembly and (co-)evolution at the epoch of structure formation and throughout cosmic history. Galaxy…
Primordial black holes (PBHs) may have formed through the gravitational collapse of cosmological perturbations that were generated and stretched during the inflationary era, later entering the cosmological horizon during the decelerating…
Scalar condensates with large expectation values can form in the early universe, for example, in theories with supersymmetry. The condensate can undergo fragmentation into Q-balls before decaying. If the Q-balls dominate the energy density…
If the cosmological dark matter has a component made of small primordial black holes, they may have a significant impact on the physics of the first stars and on the subsequent formation of massive black holes. Primordial black holes would…
The relationship between galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBH) found in their cores plays a key role in the formation and evolution of both of these major constituents of the universe, as well as the evolution of the intergalactic…
In the last decades, luminous accreting super-massive black holes have been discovered within the first Gyr after the Big Bang, but their origin is still an unsolved mystery. We discuss our state-of-the-art theoretical knowledge of their…
There is overwhelming evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centers of most nearby galaxies. The mass estimates for these remnant black holes from the stellar kinematics of local galaxies and the quasar…
We review numerous arguments for primordial black holes (PBHs) based on observational evidence from a variety of lensing, dynamical, accretion and gravitational-wave effects. This represents a shift from the usual emphasis on PBH…
Supermassive black holes are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies. Accretion of gas and black hole mergers play a fundamental role in determining the two parameters defining a black hole: mass and spin. I briefly review here…