When: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, March 26th
Where: Fine 214
Who: Prof. Klainerman, who specializes in PDE and analysis
What: Title: Are black holes real
Blackholes are precise mathematical solutions of the Einstein field equations of General Relativity. Some of the most exciting astrophysical objects in the Universe have been identified as corresponding to these mathematical Black Holes, but since no signals can escape their extreme gravitational pull, can one be sure that the right identification has been made?
I will show how this crucial issue of reality of Black Holes can be addressed by nothing more than pen and paper, those perennial tools of the mathematician. I will discuss three fundamental mathematical problems concerning Black Holes, intimately connected to the issue of their reality: rigidity, stability and collapse.
