In 1916, Karl Schwarzschild found an exact solution to Einstein field equations, which was (much) later recognized to describe a non-rotating black hole (BH). Since the 1970's BHs have proved to be fundamental in our understanding of the universe. Many galaxies harbour at least one supermassive and millions of stellar-mass BHs, which power violent phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts. In theoretical physics, BHs are on also the spotlight: for instance, they play a leading role in the gauge/gravity duality, which aims at understanding QCD through gravitational physics.
This talk is an introduction to the physics of black holes. We do not assume extensive knowledge of General Relativity, and will focus exclusively on the aspects which allow simple yet important results to be understood.
