Project description
Solving the mysteries of black holes
Black holes represent both the mysteries of gravity and the Universe’s most efficient powerhouses, transforming infalling gas into energy that shapes galaxies, stars, and planets. The groundbreaking image captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) unveiled the enigmatic nature of these cosmic giants, yet the dynamic behaviour of surrounding gas complicates our understanding. In this context, the ERC-funded BlackHolistic project seeks to unravel this complexity by simultaneously investigating the dynamics of black holes across various scales. Using high-resolution, multi-colour movies from the EHT and new telescopes like CTA and MeerKAT, the project combines innovative models with supercomputing to advance our grasp of black holes and their astrophysical impacts, establishing a universal paradigm for their study.
Objective
Black holes (BHs) are icons of the fundamental nature of gravity, the mysterious force shaping the Universe. They are also the Universes most efficient power houses, turning infalling gas into energy and outflows that, together with gravity, mould galaxies and thus ultimately stars and planets. The first image of a black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), wherein we played a leading role, captured the imagination of scientists and the public alike. This picture of the immutable black hole is however blurred by the dynamic, still mysterious behaviour of the surrounding gas. Our limited understanding of these turbulent, magnetised plasma in/outflows, producing the radiation and high-energy particles we observe, obstructs a straightforward interpretation of the black hole image for testing theories of gravity.
The challenge in understanding the astrophysics of black holes and their impact on the cosmos is that they span >8 orders of magnitude in mass, size and timescales, and emit light over 15 orders of magnitude in frequency. Our new approach overcomes this scale separation, by simultaneously addressing the dynamics of large and small black holes, in colour. We produce for the first time high-resolution multi-colour movies with the EHT combined with new telescopes probing the variable extremes of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g. CTA, MeerKAT/SKA1). The data are analysed and interpreted with innovative models finally combining micro- and macrophysics.
The PIs bring together complementary expertise over the entire black hole mass scale in radio imaging and multi-wavelength monitoring, astroparticle physics, and theoretical modelling to bear on the problem. This is accompanied by four major investments: construction of a new mm-wave telescope in Africa enabling full dynamical imaging of black holes with the EHT, new model development, supercomputing hardware, and a vibrant team of young scientists to help develop a new, truly universal black hole paradigm.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
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- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-SYG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
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