2004/01/19 by M. J. Rees, Martin J. Rees, Rees, Martin J.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0401365
19 pages, no figures. Chapter published in "Future of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology" ed. G. W. Gibbons et al. pp 217-235, CUP (2003)
arxiv created 2004/01/19 · openalex publication_date 2004/01/19 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Collapsed objects have definitely been observed: some are stellar-mass objects, the endpoint of massive stars; others, millions of times more massive, have been discovered in the cores of most galaxies. Their formation poses some still-unanswered questions. But for relativists the key question is whether observations can probe the metric in the strong-field domain, and test whether it indeed agrees with the Kerr geometry predicted by general relativity.