The Irresistible Attraction of Gravity: A Journey to Discover Black Holes

Description

The mystery of gravity has captivated us for centuries. But what is gravity and how does it work? This engaging book delves into the bizarre and often counter-intuitive world of gravitational physics. Join distinguished astrophysicist Professor Luciano Rezzolla on this virtual journey into Einstein's world of gravity, with each milestone presenting ever more fascinating aspects of gravitation. Through gentle exposure to concepts such as spacetime curvature and general relativity, you will discover some of the most curious consequences of gravitational physics, such as black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. The author presents and explains one of the most impressive scientific achievements of recent times: the first image of a supermassive black hole. Written by one of the key scientists involved in producing these results, you'll get a behind-the-scenes view of how the image was captured and discover what happens to matter and light near a black hole.

Luciano Rezzolla is the Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics and Director at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Frankfurt, Germany. His main research topics are the physics and astrophysics of compact objects, such as black holes and neutron stars. He is a member of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHTC), where he sits on the Executive Board. He has received numerous prizes including the Karl Schwarzschild Prize, the Frankfurt Physics Prize, the Golden Seal of the University of Bari, the 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics (with EHTC), and the Einstein Medal (with EHTC). Since 2019 he has been the Andrews Professor in Astronomy at Trinity College, Dublin.

'The compelling story of one of the most beautiful adventures in physics.' Carlo Rovelli, Universite d'Aix-Marseille 'Rezzolla's journey to discover black holes is a tour de force through the world of gravity, the single fundamental force that we perceive consciously every day. He is constantly looking for comparisons that will illustrate the unimaginable. This passion for commonplace explanations culminates in analyzing the image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. I think Rezzolla's book is extraordinary successful. It takes us on a wonderful journey through the fantastical world of gravitation, which is far wilder than our everyday experience can imagine.' Thomas Buhrke, Physics in Our Time 'Black holes are mysterious objects. Einstein's theory of relativity predicts their gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. The author expertly explains the basics of the field, but also gives a sense of how scientific work is done on these highly complex topics in practice. [...] The book describes a journey that, of course, is not yet over. Black holes are far from having all their secrets revealed.' Claus Kiefer, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 'What happens in a black hole? Is it the key to everything? Physicist Luciano Rezzolla explains what people can know and where our imagination ends. He has dedicated his research career to gravity, the oldest and most enigmatic of known forces. It holds the world together and gives rise to the most exotic objects.' Robert Gast, Zeit Online 'What are 'black holes' and do they exist in our Universe? In his well-written and easy to understand account Prof. Luciano Rezzolla explains to the non-expert reader the basic theoretical ideas and the evolution of the scientific research over the past century. He then reveals how in the last few years we have been able to actually identify these weird but fascinating objects through very high resolution imaging with radio waves, as well as the detection of gravitational waves. This is a good read from a top expert in the field.' Reinhard Genzel, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics; Nobel laureate in Physics 'In recent years there's been a real surge in our knowledge of black holes and their role in the cosmos. Luciano Rezzolla clearly explains the new results, their contexts and the future prospects for research. Having himself been involved in the intricate computer modelling and imaging, he conveys his enthusiasm to the reader through his personal perspective on what it's like to participate in these important discoveries.' Martin Rees, University of Cambridge; author of Gravity's Fatal Attraction 'Luciano Rezzolla offers an engaging overview of the powerful role of gravity, as the weakest but most consequential interaction shaping our universe. The narrative is engaging and scientifically accurate, with up-to-date details at the forefront of astrophysics and fundamental physics. Overall, Rezzolla offers the unique gift of a comprehensive, yet pedagogical summary of the latest exciting developments, such as imaging black holes and the use of gravitational waves as a new messenger across the cosmos.' Avi Loeb, Harvard University; author of Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth 'Black holes are mysterious objects. Some of their secrets have now been revealed, not least due to the work of this author. In his book, he describes this fascinating story in an understandable, even entertaining, yet scientifically exact way. You will not stop reading until you have reached the final page!' Claus Kiefer, University of Cologne; author of Quantum Gravity and Gravitation 'Why do things fall? Starting from this simple question, Rezzolla takes us on a whirlwind tour of gravity, from Galileo and Newton at the birth of modern science, to Einstein's 1915 revolution of warped spacetime. We are brought right up-to-date with the latest news on gravitational waves and black hole imaging, covering a lot of ground in an engaging style. Rezzolla makes the most complex topics accessible to both non-experts and those wanting to become experts.' Geraint Lewis, Sydney Institute for Astronomy; author of The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook