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.

Written by foremost experts, this short book gives a clear description of the physics of quantum black holes. The reader will learn about quantum black holes in four and higher dimensions, primordial black holes, the production of black holes in high energy particle collisions, Hawking radiation, black holes in models of low scale quantum gravity and quantum gravitational aspects of black holes.

Beginning with an overview of the theory of black holes by the editor, this book presents a collection of ten chapters by leading physicists dealing with the variety of quantum mechanical and quantum gravitational effects pertinent to black holes. The contributions address topics such as Hawking radiation, the thermodynamics of black holes, the information paradox and firewalls, Monsters, primordial black holes, self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensates, the formation of small black holes in high energetic collisions of particles, minimal length effects in black holes and small black holes at the Large Hadron Collider. Viewed as a whole the collection provides stimulating reading for researchers and graduate students seeking a summary of the quantum features of black holes.

Black Holes are still considered to be among the most mysterious and fascinating objects in our universe. Awaiting the era of gravitational astronomy, much progress in theoretical modeling and understanding of classical and quantum black holes has already been achieved. The present volume serves as a tutorial, high-level guided tour through the black-hole landscape: information paradox and blackhole thermodynamics, numerical simulations of black-hole formation and collisions, braneworld scenarios and stability of black holes with respect to perturbations are treated in great detail, as is their possible occurrence at the LHC. An outgrowth of a topical and tutorial summer school, this extensive set of carefully edited notes has been set up with the aim of constituting an advanced-level, multi-authored textbook which meets the needs of both postgraduate students and young researchers in the fields of modern cosmology, astrophysics and (quantum) field theory.

Recently, analogies between laboratory physics (e.g. quantum optics and condensed matter) and gravitational/cosmological phenomena such as black holes have attracted an increasing interest. This book contains a series of selected lectures devoted to this new and rapidly developing field. Various analogies connecting (apparently) different areas in physics are presented in order to bridge the gap between them and to provide an alternative point of view.

A comprehensive summary of progress made during the past decade on the theory of black holes and relativistic stars, this collection includes discussion of structure and oscillations of relativistic stars, the use of gravitational radiation detectors, observational evidence for black holes, cosmic censorship, numerical work related to black hole collisions, the internal structure of black holes, black hole thermodynamics, information loss and other issues related to the quantum properties of black holes, and recent developments in the theory of black holes in the context of string theory. Volume contributors: Valeria Ferrari, John L. Friedman, James B. Hartle, Stephen W. Hawking, Gary T. Horowitz, Werner Israel, Roger Penrose, Martin J. Rees, Rafael D. Sorkin, Saul A. Teukolsky, Kip S. Thorne, and Robert M. Wald.

This textbook gradually introduces the reader to several topics related to black hole physics with a didactic approach. It starts with the most basic black hole solution, the Schwarzschild metric, and discusses the basic classical properties of black hole solutions as seen by different probes. Then it reviews various theorems about black hole properties as solutions to Einstein gravity coupled to matter fields, conserved charges associated with black holes, and laws of black hole thermodynamics. Next, it elucidates semiclassical and quantum aspects of black holes, which are relevant in ongoing and future research. The book is enriched with many exercises and solutions to assist in the learning. The textbook is designed for physics graduate students who want to start their research career in the field of black holes; postdocs who recently changed their research focus towards black holes and want to get up-to-date on recent and current research topics; advanced researchers intending to teach (or learn) basic and advanced aspects of black hole physics and the associated mathematical tools. Besides general relativity, the reader needs to be familiar with standard undergraduate physics, like thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics. Moreover, familiarity with basic quantum field theory in Minkowski space is assumed. The book covers the rest of the needed background material in the main text or the appendices.