›SIGRAV Graduate School in Contemporary Relativity and Gravitational Physics: X Edition. ASTROPHYSICAL BLACK HOLES

The Schools are directed to PH.D. students and young Post-Docs in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics who are interested in widening their knowledge in the fields of Physical Cosmology, Relativistic Astrophysics, General Relativity, Experimental Gravity and the Modern Quantum Theories of Gravitation. The Schools wish to introduce students to current problems, highlighting their importance and potential scientific impact. Lecturers will report on theoretical, observational and experimental aspects of the research, reviewing latest achievements in the field.

Black holes, weighting from few tens up to few billions solar masses, represent one of the most fascinating objects in modern physics and astrophysics. Their presence can be traced in X-ray binaries, in the center of the Milky Way and of nearby galaxies, and back to early cosmic times, as the power house of luminous quasars. Black holes are a crucial testbed for GR, a key ingredient in galaxy cosmic evolution, and can shine as the loudest sirens in the new field of gravitational wave astronomy. The school will bring together some of the world leading experts to provide a focused overview on astrophysical black holes, both as end-point of stellar evolution and as cosmic probes of the high redshift Universe.