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Science 22 July 1988:
Vol. 241. no. 4864, pp. 421 - 425
DOI: 10.1126/science.241.4864.421
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Articles

Building Black Holes: Supercomputer Cinema

STUART L. SHAPIRO 1 and SAUL A. TEUKOLSKY 1

1 Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics and is a member of the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

A new computer code can solve Einstein's equations of general relativity for the dynamical evolution of a relativistic star cluster. The cluster may contain a large number of stars that move in a strong gravitational field at speeds approaching the speed of light. Unstable star clusters undergo catastrophic collapse to black holes. The collapse of an unstable cluster to a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy may explain the origin of quasars and active galactic nuclei. By means of a supercomputer simulation and color graphics, the whole process can be viewed in real time on a movie screen.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)