Related papers: Fundamental Concepts
Small black holes should have formed in the early Universe if the density contrast was high enough. This article aims at giving a - biased and partial - short overview of the latest breakthroughs in this field. It first deals with tentative…
Very compact objects probe extreme gravitational fields and may be the key to understand outstanding puzzles in fundamental physics. These include the nature of dark matter, the fate of spacetime singularities, or the loss of unitarity in…
This is an introduction into the problem of how to set up black hole initial-data for the matter-free field equations of General Relativity. The approach is semi-pedagogical and addresses a more general audience of astrophysicists and…
Classical black holes are solutions of the field equations of General Relativity. Many astronomical observations suggest that black holes really exist in nature. However, an unambiguous proof for their existence is still lacking. Neither…
Black holes are among the most intriguing objects in modern physics. Their influence ranges from powering quasars and other active galactic nuclei, to providing key insights into quantum gravity. We review the observational evidence for…
Black holes merge together different field of physics. From General Relativity over thermodynamics and quantum field theory, they do now also reach into the regime of particle and collider physics. In the presence of additional compactified…
Black holes are a common feature of the Universe. They are observed as stellar mass black holes spread throughout galaxies and as supermassive objects in their centres. Observations of stars orbiting close to the centre of our Galaxy…
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…
This essay gives a very general introduction to Schwarzschild black holes. First, it focuses on some of its classical features as solutions to Einstein's theory of gravity. In the second part it discusses briefly some specific quantum…
We review the recent multifrequency studies of galactic black hole binaries, aiming at revealing the underlying emission processes and physical properties in these systems. The optical and infrared observations are important for determining…
These are the lecture notes for an introductory course on black holes and some aspects of their interaction with the classical and quantum world. The focus is on phenomena of "fundamental physics" in the immediate surroundings of the black…
What is going on (as of August 2008) at the interface between theoretical general relativity, string-inspired models, and observational astrophysics? Quite a lot. In this mini-survey I will make a personal choice and focus on four specific…
The traditional description of black holes in terms of event horizons is inadequate for many physical applications, especially when studying black holes in non-stationary spacetimes. In these cases, it is often more useful to use the…
In these lectures general relativity is outlined as the classical field theory of gravity, emphasizing physical phenomena rather than mathematical formalism. Dynamical solutions representing traveling waves as well as stationary fields like…
The inner parts of black-hole accretion discs shine in X-rays which can be monitored and the observed spectra can be used to trace strong gravitational fields in the place of emission and along paths of light rays. This paper summarizes…
This chapter provides a general overview of the theory and observations of black holes in the Universe and on their interpretation. We briefly review the black hole classes, accretion disk models, spectral state classification, the AGN…
This review gives an introduction to various attempts to understand the quantum nature of black holes. The first part focuses on thermodynamics of black holes, Hawking radiation, and the interpretation of entropy. The second part is devoted…
The objective of this work is to present a non-technical introduction to black hole physics. The main properties of the four types of black hole allowed by the no-hair theorem are discussed, and some properties of spacetime around a black…
The analysis of the properties of the X-ray radiation emitted from geometrically thin accretion disks around black holes can be a powerful tool to test General Relativity in the strong field regime. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art…
Some aspects of Cosmology with primordial black holes are briefly reviewed