Black holes have evolved from theoretical prediction to accepted hypothesis, due to the wealth of new discoveries in the last decades. In this talk I will discuss the observational evidence for the existence of black holes of different sizes and what we know about their evolution based on observations and theory. I will also describe what Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei are, and how these extremely luminous objects can be used to study black holes at the early ages of the Universe.

1. BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
SANDRA RAIMUNDO
Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow (University of California Los Angeles, USA & Niels Bohr Institute, Denmark)
University of Southampton, UK
Funded by the European Union
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

2. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit:
Ankita
Panda,
ankitapanda.com

3. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
STELLAR MASS BLACK HOLES
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES
Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI

4. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
▸ 3 - 50 times the mass of our Sun
STELLAR MASS BLACK HOLES
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES
Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI

5. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
> 25 solar masses

6. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
▸ 3 - 50 times the mass of our Sun
STELLAR MASS BLACK HOLES
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES
Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI

7. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
▸ 3 - 50 times the mass of our Sun
STELLAR MASS BLACK HOLES
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES
▸ One million to 10 billion times the mass of
our Sun
Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI

8. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT BLACK HOLES EXIST?
NASA, ESA,
the Hubble
Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble
Collaboration,
and
A.
Evans
(University
of
Virginia,
Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony
Brook
University)

9. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit:
ALMA
(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO),
Alves
et
al.

10. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

11. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
Cygnus X1
21 solar masses (Miller-Jones et al. 2021, Science)

12. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Milky Way
Credit:
Kurzgesagt
–
In
a
Nutshell

13. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Milky Way
Credit:
Kurzgesagt
–
In
a
Nutshell

14. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Milky Way
Credit:
Kurzgesagt
–
In
a
Nutshell

15. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Milky Way
Credit:
Kurzgesagt
–
In
a
Nutshell

16. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
These
images/animations
were
created
by
Prof.
Andrea
Ghez
and
her
research
team
at
UCLA
and
are
from
data
sets
obtained
with
the
W.
M.
Keck
Telescopes.

17. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CENTRE OF THE MILKY WAY
Credit: ESO/MPE/GRAVITY Collaboration

18. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Nobel Prize in Physics 2020
Andrea Ghez (UCLA)
Reinhard Genzel (MPE)
Roger Penrose (Oxford)
CENTRE OF THE MILKY WAY
Credit: ESO/MPE/GRAVITY Collaboration
Milky Way supermassive black hole
Mass = 4.3 x 106 solar masses (Gillessen et al. 2017)
Supermassive black holes are present
in the centre of most (if not all) galaxies

19. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
M87
Event Horizon Telescope
Mass = 6.5 x 109 solar masses
(EHT collaboration, 2019, ApJ)
Credit:
Event
Horizon
Collaboration
et
al.

20. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
QUASARS
‘QUASI-STELLAR OBJECTS’
Credits:
STScI

21. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
QUASARS
‘QUASI-STELLAR OBJECTS’
Credits:
STScI
3C 273
Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA

22. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
QUASARS
‘QUASI-STELLAR OBJECTS’
Credits:
STScI
Quasar 1229+204
Credit: J. Hutchings (DAO), NASA

23. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
QUASARS
‘QUASI-STELLAR OBJECTS’
Credits:
STScI

24. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit:
NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/P.
Marenfeld

25. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Credit:
NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/P.
Marenfeld
Large amounts of energy emitted across the whole spectrum

26. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS

27. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Image
Credit:
X-ray:
NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft
et
al.;
Submillimeter:
MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss
et
al.;
Optical:
ESO/WFI

28. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
13
000
light-years
Image
Credit:
X-ray:
NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft
et
al.;
Submillimeter:
MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss
et
al.;
Optical:
ESO/WFI

29. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
NGC
4151,
Credits:
NASA,
ESA,
and
J.
DePasquale
(STScI)

30. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
Not all supermassive black holes are ‘active’ (only 5 – 10 % are very luminous)
NGC
4151,
Credits:
NASA,
ESA,
and
J.
DePasquale
(STScI)
ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

31. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
▸ Observations of gas and stars around
black holes

32. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
▸ Observations of gas and stars around
black holes

33. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
▸ Observations of gas and stars around
black holes

34. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
▸ Observations of gas and stars around
black holes

35. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
▸ Gravitational waves - LIGO/VIRGO
fi
Image
Credit:
SXS,
the
Simulating
eXtreme
Spacetimes
(SXS)
project
(http://www.black-holes.org)

36. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
Image
Credit:
SXS,
the
Simulating
eXtreme
Spacetimes
(SXS)
project
(http://www.black-holes.org)
Mass
(in
solar
masses)

37. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE PHYSICS FROM OBSERVATIONS
Image
Credit:
SXS,
the
Simulating
eXtreme
Spacetimes
(SXS)
project
(http://www.black-holes.org)
Supermassive black hole mergers?
LISA space mission
(ESA/NASA) 2028
Credit: LISA (ESA/NASA)

38. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
THE MOST DISTANT QUASARS

39. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
THE MOST DISTANT QUASARS
Record holder: J0313−1806
(Wang et al. 2021)
Distance: 670 million years after the big bang
(Universe was 5% of its current age)
Already has a mass of 1.6 x 109 solar masses

40. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
THE MOST DISTANT QUASARS
Record holder: J0313−1806
(Wang et al. 2021)
Distance: 670 million years after the big bang
(Universe was 5% of its current age)
Already has a mass of 1.6 x 109 solar masses

41. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
THE MOST DISTANT QUASARS
Record holder: J0313−1806
(Wang et al. 2021)
Distance: 670 million years after the big bang
(Universe was 5% of its current age)
Already has a mass of 1.6 x 109 solar masses
How did it grow so fast?

42. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE FORMATION AND GROWTH

43. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE SEEDS?
Population III stars
Volonteri et al. 2010
Collapse of dense gas clouds
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE FORMATION AND GROWTH

44. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
BLACK HOLE SEEDS?
Population III stars
Volonteri et al. 2010
Collapse of dense gas clouds
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE FORMATION AND GROWTH
670 million years

45. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CONCLUSIONS
▸ We have observational evidence for black holes of different masses

46. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CONCLUSIONS
▸ We have observational evidence for black holes of different masses

47. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CONCLUSIONS
▸ We have observational evidence for black holes of different masses

48. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CONCLUSIONS
▸ We have observational evidence for black holes of different masses

49. SANDRA RAIMUNDO BLACK HOLES AND BRIGHT QUASARS
CONCLUSIONS
▸ We have observational evidence for black holes of different masses
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