Related papers: Viewpoint: Simplicity of Black Holes
Einstein's theory of general relativity (GR) provides the best available description of gravity. The recent detection of gravitational waves and the first picture of a black hole have provided spectacular confirmations of GR, as well as…
Black holes in general relativity are characterized by their trapping horizon, a one-way membrane that can be crossed only inwards. The existence of trapping horizons in astrophysical black holes can be tested observationally using a…
Black holes have the peculiar and intriguing property of having an event horizon, a one-way membrane causally separating their internal region from the rest of the Universe. Today astrophysical observations provide some evidence for the…
We review recent results concerning general properties of higher dimensional black holes. The topics selected with particular focus are those concerning topology, symmetry, and uniqueness properties of asymptotically flat vacuum black holes…
We summarize the state of the art of the ``close approximation'' to black hole collisions. We discuss results to first and second order in perturbation theory for head-on collisions of momentarily-stationary and non-stationary black holes…
In this paper, we have presented an algorithm to generate various black hole solutions in general relativity and alternative theories of gravity. The algorithm involves few dimensional parameters that are assigned suitable values to specify…
Wormholes are extremely attractive objects for research, and although many mathematical and physical properties of these objects have been discovered and studied in the recent decades, there remain many unsolved problems and opportunities…
This paper is a set of notes that we wrote concerning the first version of Emergent Gravity [gr-qc/0602022]. It is our version of an exercise that we proposed to some of our students. The idea was to find mathematical errors and…
We review recent progress in understanding certain aspects of the thermodynamics of black holes and other horizons. Our discussion centers on various ``entropy bounds'' which have been proposed in the literature and on the current…
It is well known that the concept of black hole has been considered very fascinating by scientists even before the introduction of Einstein's general relativity. They should be the final result of an irreversible gravitational collapse of…
We discuss the black hole information problem, including the recent claim that unitarity requires a horizon firewall, emphasizing the role of decoherence and macroscopic superpositions. We consider the formation and evaporation of a large…
The recent detections of gravitational waves from binary systems of black holes are in remarkable agreement with the predictions of General Relativity. In this pedagogical mini-review, I will go through the physics of the different phases…
Trieste Spring School Lectures describing the author's opinions about black hole evaporation and information loss. The remnant, or cornucopion scenario for the endpoint of Hawking evaporation is described in detail. In this picture…
Black holes provide a window into the microscopic structure of spacetime in quantum gravity. Recently the quantum information contained in Hawking radiation has been calculated, verifying a key aspect of the consistency of black hole…
Professor Jacob Bekenstein was known not only for his brilliant and original physical ideas, but also for their clear presentation in his lectures and seminal research papers. I here provide a short review of Bekenstein's pioneering ideas…
Within the framework of general relativity, we explore the interior of the Schwarzschild black hole before complete collapse occurs, finding that the exterior is perfectly compatible with a source much more complex than a pointlike mass. We…
This is the first paper in a series on event horizons in numerical relativity. In this paper we present methods for obtaining the location of an event horizon in a numerically generated spacetime. The location of an event horizon is…
Based on the generalized uncertainty principle, we study the entropy of a four-dimensional black hole by counting degrees of freedom near the horizon and obtain the (finite) entropy proportional to the surface area at the horizon without a…
Black holes play a pivotal role in the foundations of physics, but there is an alarming discrepancy between what is considered to be a black hole in observational astronomy and theoretical studies. Despite claims to the contrary, we argue…
Recent work on the dyadosphere of a black hole is reviewed with special emphasis on the explanation of gamma ray bursts. A change of paradigm in the observations of black holes is presented.