Related papers: Black-Hole Phenomenology
The localization of stellar-mass binary black hole mergers using gravitational waves is critical in understanding the properties of the binaries' host galaxies, observing possible electromagnetic emission from the mergers, or using them as…
This is a revised and shortened version of a MSc thesis submitted to the University of Sussex, UK. An introduction into the pre-string physics of black holes and related thermodynamics is given. Then, starting with an introduction of how…
The quantum nature of a black hole is revealed using the simplest terms that one learns in undergraduate and beginning graduate courses. The exposition demonstrates -- vividly -- the importance and power of the quantum oscillator in…
Relativistic outflows are a common phenomenon in accreting black holes. Despite the enormous differences in scale, stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries and collapsars, and super-massive black holes at the dynamic centre of galaxies…
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…
A review of recent investigations of black holes in higher curvature theories of gravity.
It is addressed the issue of black holes with nonlinear electromagnetic field, focussing mainly in the Born-Infeld case. The main features of these systems are described, for instance, geodesics, energy conditions, thermodynamics and…
A common question about compact objects in high energy astrophysics is whether it is possible to distinguish black hole from neutron star systems with some other property that is not the mass of the compact object. Up to now a few…
It has recently been suggested that black holes may be described as condensates of weakly interacting gravitons at a critical point, exhibiting strong quantum effects. In this paper, we study a model system of attractive bosons in one…
An introduction to generalized thermodynamics of quantum black holes, in the one-loop approximation, is given. The material is aimed at graduate students. The topics include: quantum evaporation of black holes, Euclidean formulation of…
Massive black holes are ubiquitous, occurring at the centres of all massive galaxies and possibly many low mass ones. They are no ornament which just happens to be there, but play a role vital to the growth and structure of the host galaxy.…
Black holes are real astrophysical objects, but their interiors are hidden and can only be "observed" through mathematics. The structure of rotating black holes is typically illustrated with the help of special coordinates. But any such…
We investigate the physics of black holes in the light of the quantum theoretical framework proposed in [1]. It is argued that black holes are completely non-local objects, and that the only one which really exists is the universe itself.
Tidal disruption by massive black holes is a phenomenon, during which a large part of gravitational energy can be released on a very short time-scale. The time-scales and energies involved during X-ray and IR flares observed in Galactic…
Perturbations of stars and black holes have been one of the main topics of relativistic astrophysics for the last few decades. They are of particular importance today, because of their relevance to gravitational wave astronomy. In this…
This review gives an introduction into problems, concepts and techniques when quantizing matter fields near black holes. The first part focusses on quantum fields in general curved space-times. The second part is devoted to a detailed…
I discuss several general-relativistic effects that are likely to be of interest in the astrophysics of black holes and neutron stars
This dissertation elaborates on X-ray polarisation features of astrophysical environments near accreting black holes. Although the work was originally assigned to supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei, the results are also…
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…
Roughly a dozen X-ray binaries are presently known in which the compact accreting primary stars are too massive to be neutron stars. These primaries are identified as black holes, though there is as yet no definite proof that any of the…