Do Black Holes Exist? – The Physics and Philosophy of Black Holes, Bad Honnef, Germany

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Date:  2017-04-24  -  2017-04-28

Location:  Bad Honnef, Germany

The evidence for the existence of Black Holes received a strong boost with the direct detection of gravitational waves which perfectly fits to the simulation of the merger of two Black Holes with masses of around 30 to 40 Solar masses. Further evidence for their existence is given by the observation of stars around the Sagittarius A*, the center of our galaxy, the observation of radiation from accretion disks around many massive galactic Black Holes, and high energetic jets emerging from the near vicinity of Black Holes. We are also waiting for further evidence based on the Event Horizon Telescope and the Black Hole Cam. However, despite these overwhelming observations there is still the question of the interpretation: How shall we deal with the situation that no Black Hole can be observed directly? This question will be discussed by experts from the observations, from the mathematical and theoretical aspects of Black Holes, as well as from the philosophy of sciences.

The program consists of invited as well as contributed talks and posters. For young scientists we will award the best poster with a prize. The program invites graduate students, postdocs as well as faculty members. The number of participants is limited. Successful applicants will receive funding for their stay. For more information, please check our web page.

The organizers: Silke Britzen, Claus Laemmerzahl, Manfred Stoeckler

The conference is supported by the WE-Heraeus Foundation.