Classical and Quantum Black Holes
Purchasing Options
Features
Hot and fashionable topic.
Distinguished contributors.
Presented with modern perspective.
Summary
Black holes are becoming increasingly important in contemporary research in astrophysics, cosmology, theoretical physics, and mathematics. Indeed, they provoke some of the most fascinating questions in fundamental physics, which may lead to revolutions in scientific thought. Written by distinguished scientists, Classical and Quantum Black Holes provides a comprehensive panorama of black hole physics and mathematics from a modern point of view. The book begins with a general introduction, followed by five parts that cover several modern aspects of the subject, ranging from the observational and the experimental to the more theoretical and mathematical issues. The material is written at a level suitable for postgraduate students entering the field.
Table of Contents
The physics of black holes (an overview). Part 1 Thermodynamics of black holes and hawking radiation (Claus Kiefer). Part 2 Strings, matrices and black holes (Robbert Dijkgraaf). Part 3 BPS black holes in supergravity (Riccardo D'Auria & Pietro Fre): Introduction. Supergravity p-branes in higher dimensions. The symplectic structure of 4D supergravity and N=2 BPS black holes. The structure of supergravity central charges and black hole entropy. N=8 supergravity: BPS black holes with 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 of supersymmetry. Part 4 Astrophysics of stellar mass black holes (Aldo Treves & Francesco Haardt). Part 5 Computational black holes (Richard A Matzner).
Editorial Reviews
"This volume is a heroic effort to bring together the different and diverse aspects of black hole physics. The lectures are extended and comprehensive and are significantly longer than most reviews. There is a real attempt to cover the relevant aspects in a way comprehensible to a graduate student who is not an expert. The three lectures summarizing the quantum aspects of black holes indeed compose a nice almost self-contained review of the quantum aspects of black hole physics. The book serves as a nice introduction to black hole physics. It is mostly suitable for a graduate seminar on black holes or for a graduate student who wishes to explore this vast field before falling into a specific black hole in one of its niches."
-General Relativity and Gravitation, Vol. 35, No. 8, August 2003
