Related papers: Massive black holes in galactic nuclei: Observatio…
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…
The centers of elliptical galaxies host supermassive black holes that significantly affect the surrounding interstellar medium through feedback resulting from the accretion process. The evolution of this gas and of the nuclear emission…
Annihilations of weakly interacting dark matter particles provide an important signature for the possibility of indirect detection of dark matter in galaxy halos. These self-annihilations can be greatly enhanced in the vicinity of a massive…
Models of superdense star clusters at the center of galaxies are investigated to see whether such objects can be stable and long-lived based on evaporation and collision time-scales and stability criteria. We find that physically reasonable…
The black hole mass function of supermassive black holes describes the evolution of the distribution of black hole mass. It is one of the primary empirical tools available for mapping the growth of supermassive black holes and for…
Evidence shows that massive black holes reside in most local galaxies. Studies have also established a number of relations between the MBH mass and properties of the host galaxy such as bulge mass and velocity dispersion. These results…
We present a broad review on black holes. We analyse some of the fundamental concepts in black hole theory, the observational and theoretical status of stellar and galactic black holes, and their appearance as quantum objects.
The gravitational potential of supermassive black holes is so powerful that it triggers some of the most intense phenomena in the Universe. Accretion onto these objects and relativistic jet emission from their vicinity are observable across…
Growing supermassive black holes (Active Galactic Nuclei; AGN) release energy with the potential to alter their host galaxies and larger-scale environment; a process named "AGN feedback". Feedback is a required component of galaxy formation…
The supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy can be weighed, in rare but realistic cases, when the galaxy acts as a strong gravitational lens. The central image that should be produced by the lens is either destroyed or…
Mass and spin are the only two parameters needed to completely characterize black holes in General Relativity. However, the interaction between black holes and their environment is where complexity lies, as the relevant physical processes…
The dynamics of black hole spacetimes play a crucial role in astrophysics, high energy physics and fundamental physics. In this thesis I have investigated the dynamics of black holes in generic spacetimes by extending established numerical…
This paper summarizes the observations which provide the best evidence for the presence of black holes in active galactic nuclei. This includes: X-ray variability; kinematical studies using optical emission lines as well as the distribution…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful concept in the Astrophysics to study black holes. The gravitational field of a massive object like a galaxy or black hole bends and magnifies the light from a distant object behind it. The Schwarzchild…
Galactic nuclei are unique laboratories for the study of processes connected with the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes. At the same time, they represent challenging environments from the point of view of stellar dynamics due…
The gravitational wave detectors have unveiled a population of massive black holes that do not resemble those observed in the Milky Way and whose origin is debated. According to one possible explanation, these black holes may have formed…
It is now well-established that a dark, compact object (DCO), very likely a massive black hole (MBH) of around four million solar masses is lurking at the centre of the Milky Way. While a consensus is emerging about the origin and growth of…
The most massive black holes, lurking at the centers of large galaxies, must have formed less than a billion years after the big bang, as they are visible today in the form of bright quasars at redshift larger than six. Their early…
Light bending by the strong gravity around the black hole will form the so-called black hole shadow, the shape of which can shed light on the structure of the near-horizon geometry to possibly reveal novel physics of strong gravity and…
Black holes are defined as a region in spacetime where gravity is so strong that particles and electromagnetic radiation cannot escape. According to their mass, they are classified into three types: stellar-mass black holes,…