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.body { font-size: 9pt;

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.

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Dit vak vergt enige voorkennis van speciale relativiteitstheorie en Newton's klassieke mechanica. Geen kennis van algemene relativiteit is nodig. Belangrijk is wel dat er wiskundige vaardigheden aanwezig zijn. Voor wis- en natuurkunde studenten vraagt dit geen speciale aandacht, maar voor studenten van andere richtingen is het belangrijk dat je uiteindelijk goed kan werken met formules over afgeleiden van functies met meerdere variabelen. We besteden extra aandacht aan eventuele achterstand van

• Syllabus There will be a syllabus that will be put online via Blackboard. It is written in English, but teaching will be done in Dutch.
• Book “Gravity’s fatal attraction”, Mitchell Begelman and Martin Rees, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press.