Black holes

 

In this course, we learn some elementary facts about black holes, both from the theoretical side, as well as from the astrophysical side.

On the theory side, we discuss aspects of the gravitational force and how it leads to the notion of a black hole and its event horizon. We also discuss orbits and tidal forces around black holes, time dilation and the properties of spacetime when you fall into a black hole. Finally we teach elementary aspects about Penrose diagrams and Hawking radiation.

On the astrophysical and observational side, we discuss aspects of stellar collapse, accretion discs around black holes, supermassive black holes like Sagitarrius A* at the centre of our Milky Way, and finally about gravitational waves coming from colliding and merging black holes.