The formation and evolution of black holes

Abstract

The concept of Black Holes was first introduced as a prediction by Eisteins Theory of General Relativity and later solved by the Schwarzschild Solution in 1915. A point of mass to great that the bend in space time as a result doesnt allow even light to escape its gravitational pull within the Event Horizon, a point of infinite density and a point at which the laws of time break down. Formation of Black Holes are of interest in many fields of not only Astrophysics but the Physics as a whole. For example it can tell us about the structure and rotation of galaxies which in turn reveals properties of Dark Matter while features such as Hawking Radiation help to further link the world of quantum mechanics to Eisteins Theory of General Relativity. Stellar Black Holes are the remains of enormous stars which has collapsed after running out of fuel for nuclear fusion to continue. These objects can be found throughout the galaxy but most importantly at the center of each galaxy lies a Supermassive Black Hole such as Sagittarius A* at the centre of the Milky Way which has a massive of 4.6 million solar masses, the process by which these Supermassive Black Holes form remain unknown till this day. Black Holes have been notoriously hard to detect due to the fact that they cannot be seen and only through the analysis of orbits of objects around it can its properties like mass be determined. Their mystical nature is exactly why Black Holes draw so much interest within the Astrophysics community today. The formation of such large celestial objects has been debated among Physicists for decades and this paper aims to review current understandings and existing research on the formation of Black Holes to provide an overview on the collapse of stars and the processes with which the core may evolve into a black hole.