Black holes

TL;DR

This paper reviews the classification, detection, and key research findings related to black holes, emphasizing their role in astrophysics and future observational prospects.

Contribution

It summarizes current understanding of black hole types, detection methods, and recent discoveries, providing an outlook on future observational capabilities.

Findings

Black hole accretion is universal across types.

Black holes co-evolve with their host galaxies.

Next-generation observational facilities will enhance black hole studies.

Abstract

Black holes are defined as a region in spacetime where gravity is so strong that particles and electromagnetic radiation cannot escape. According to their mass, they are classified into three types: stellar-mass black holes, intermediate-mass black holes, and supermassive black holes. This entry describes how to weight and detect these three types of black holes, summarizes key research findings such as the universality of black hole accretion and black hole-galaxy co-evolution, and gives an outlook to what the next generation of observational facilities will provide.