Black holes are predicted by General Relativity and there has been a long search for them. Now they have been observed. General Relativity also predicts effects of high spin of the black hole. There is good reason to believe that the best known black hole is spinning more or less as rapidly as it is allowed to. Now, the search is on for the spin of the black hole. In this paper, we briefly review the theoretical reasons for expecting black holes to exist and the earlier searches for them. We then explain how the supermassive black holes at galactic centers have been observed. We conclude with some work suggesting how the spin of the black holes can be observed by the next generation of space borne telescopes.
Observing Black Holes
DE PAOLIS, Francesco;INGROSSO, Gabriele;NUCITA, Achille;
2005-01-01
Abstract
Black holes are predicted by General Relativity and there has been a long search for them. Now they have been observed. General Relativity also predicts effects of high spin of the black hole. There is good reason to believe that the best known black hole is spinning more or less as rapidly as it is allowed to. Now, the search is on for the spin of the black hole. In this paper, we briefly review the theoretical reasons for expecting black holes to exist and the earlier searches for them. We then explain how the supermassive black holes at galactic centers have been observed. We conclude with some work suggesting how the spin of the black holes can be observed by the next generation of space borne telescopes.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
