Black Holes

Underlying principles of General

Relativity
The Equivalence
Principle

No difference between a
steady acceleration and
a gravitational field
Gravity and Acceleration cannot be distinguished
 V = a h/c

h
Equivalence principle – this situation should be the same

h Gravitational
field
 Eddington tests General
Relativity and spacetime
curvature

GR predicts light-
bending of order 1
arcsecond near the
limb of the Sun

Principe May 1919

Lensing of distant galaxies by a foreground cluster
 QSO 2237+0305

The Einstein cross

Curved Space: A 2-dimensional analogy

Flat space

Radius r

Angles of a triangle add up Circumference of a circle is 2πr

to 180 degrees
Positive and Negative Curvature

Triangle angles >180 degrees Triangle angles <180 degrees

Circle circumference < 2πr Circle circumference > 2πr
The effects of curvature only become noticeable on scales
comparable to the radius of curvature. Locally, space is flat.
A geodesic – the “shortest possible path”** a body can take between
two points in spacetime (with no external forces). Particles with mass
follow timelike geodesics. Light follows “null” geodesics.

Time Timelike
Curved geodesic caused by
acceleration OR gravity
Spacelike
Matter tells space(time)
how to curve
Spacetime curvature tells
matter how to move

Space

** This is actually the path that takes the maximum “proper” time.
Mass (and energy,
pressure,
momentum) tell
spacetime how to
curve;
Curved spacetime
tells matter how to
move
A formidable
problem to solve,
except in symmetric
cases – “chicken
and egg”
Curvature of space in spherical symmetry – e.g. around the Sun
 V = (2ah)1/2

Special Relativity
A moving clock runs slow
 Observer ON TRAIN Observer BY TRACKSIDE

Train
speed v
Width of s
carriage
d
Is d meters

vt/2
t’ = 2d / c t = 2s / c
So t’ is smaller than t
Smaller by a factor g
Observers don’t agree!
Speed of light is c=300,000 km/s Where g2 = 1/(1 - v2/c2)
 V = (2ah)1/2

Special Relativity
A moving ruler is shorter
According to the equivalence principle, this is the same as

Gravitational
field
h
Curvature of space in spherical symmetry – e.g. around the Sun
Spacetime curvature near a black hole
 A black hole forms when a mass is squashed inside it’s
Schwarzschild Radius RS = 3 (M/Msun) km

Time dilation factor

1/(1 – RS/r)1/2

Becomes infinite
when r=RS
Progenitor < 8 M

Planetary Nebula

Remnant < 1.4 M The Chandrasekhar

limit

A cooling C/O core,

supported by quantum
mechanics! Electron
degeneracy pressure.

Cools forever – gravity loses! White Dwarf

Progenitor > 8 M
Supernova

Remnant < 2.5 M Remnant > 2.5 M

20 km

Neutron star, supported by

quantum mechanics! Neutron
degeneracy pressure.
Cools forever – gravity loses! Black Hole – gravity wins!
Black Holes in binary systems
 Cygnus X-1

M3 sin3i = 0.25 (M + m)2 Period = 6 days M > 5 Msun

Ellipsoidal light curve variations

Depend on mass ratio and orbit inclination

 Combine ellipsoidal model with radial velocity curve
BH
mass

Black hole mass 10 –15 x Msun

Spinning black holes – the Kerr metric
 Spaghettification

A 10g stretching force

felt at 3700 km (>RS)
from a 10 Msun black
hole

Force increases as 1/r3

Supermassive Black Holes

Jets propelled by twisted

magnetic field lines
attached to gas spiralling
around a central black hole
Supermassive
Black Hole in the
Galactic Centre

Mass is 4 millions times

that of the Sun
Schwarzschild radius 12
million km = 0.08 au
Falling into a black hole