Related papers: Black hole spin: theory and observation

Theoretical models show that the power of relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei depends on the spin and mass of the central supermassive black holes, as well as the accretion. Here we report an analysis of archival observations of a…

A spinning black hole accreting from a disk of strongly magnetized plasma via a magnetically arrested disk is known to produce an efficient electromagnetic jet powered by the black hole's spin energy. We present general relativistic…

Recent studies of accretion onto supermassive black hole binaries suggest that much, perhaps most, of the matter eventually accretes onto one hole or the other. If so, then for binaries whose inspiral from ~1 pc to 0.001 - 0.01 pc is driven…

We consider the evolution of a cosmic string loop that is captured by a much more massive and compact black hole. We show that after several reconnections that produce ejections of smaller loops, the loop that remains bound to the black…

Accretion disk reflection spectra, including broad iron emission lines, bear the imprints of the strong Doppler shifts and gravitational red-shifts close to black holes. The extremity of these shifts depends on the proximity of the…

Measurements of black-hole spins are of crucial importance to fulfill the promise of gravitational-wave astronomy. On the astrophysics side, spins are perhaps the cleanest indicator of black-hole evolutionary processes, thus providing a…

Angular momentum, or spin, is a fundamental property of black holes (BHs), yet it is much more difficult to estimate than mass or accretion rate (for actively accreting systems). In recent years, high-quality X-ray observations have allowed…

We study the effects of the presence of the tachyon field around the black hole. We show that in presence of the tachyon field, unlike the ordinary canonical scalar field, the time evolution of the black hole mass depends on the potential…

We review the theoretical aspects of gravitational lensing by black holes, and discuss the perspectives for realistic observations. We will first treat lensing by spherically symmetric black holes, in which the formation of infinite…

Angular momentum plays very important roles in the formation of PBHs in the matter-dominated phase if it lasts sufficiently long. In fact, most collapsing masses are bounced back due to centrifugal force, since angular momentum…

Stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars represent extremes in gravity, density, and magnetic fields. They therefore serve as key objects in the study of multiple frontiers of physics. In addition, their origin (mainly in core-collapse…

The geometry of black hole spacetimes can be probed with exquisite precision in the gravitational-wave window, and possibly also in the optical regime. We study the accretion of bright spots -- objects which emit strongly in the optical or…

We prescribe a method to study the effects of self-gravity of accretion disk around a black hole associated with long Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in an evolving background Kerr metric. This is an extension to our previous work where we…

We consider a rapidly spinning black hole surrounded by an equatorial, geometrically thin, slowly accreting disk that is stationary and axisymmetric. We analytically compute the broadening of electromagnetic line emissions from the…

We start by reviewing the existing literature on the creation of black holes during high-energy particle collisions, both in the absence and in the presence of extra, compact, spacelike dimensions. Then, we discuss in detail the properties…

The Hawking-Penrose singularity theorem states that a singularity forms inside a black hole in general relativity. To remove this singularity one must resort to a more fundamental theory. Using a corrected dynamical equation arising in loop…

We have embarked in an HST program to determine the masses of black holes in spiral galaxies directly by measuring the line emission arising from an extended accretion disk. For each of the galaxies in our sample we have measured the…

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…

Observations over the past 20 years have revealed a strong relationship between the properties of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) lying at the center of a galaxy and the host galaxy itself. The magnitude of the spin of the black hole…

We present the results of a semianalytical model that evolves the masses and spins of massive black holes together with the properties of their host galaxies along the cosmic history. As a consistency check, our model broadly reproduces a…