Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Star and black-hole formation

What's hot and what's not

Stars form from gas both dense enough to collapse but diffuse enough to cool into molecules. If cooling is prohibited, a supermassive black hole may form instead. The transition may explain key mysteries of galactic structure.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Optical image of Andromeda, a typical spiral galaxy and the nearest to our own Milky Way.

© TONY AND DAPHNE HALLAS

References

  1. Trimble, V. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 107, 1133–1144 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hubble, E. Astrophys. J. 64, 321–369 (1926).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Sparke, L. S. & Gallagher, J. S. Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction 26–46 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Sofue, Y. & Rubin, V. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 39, 137–174 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Larson, R. B. Nature Phys. 6, 96–98 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ghez, A. M. et al. Astrophys. J. 689, 1044–1062 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bender, R. et al. Astrophys. J. 631, 280–300 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kassin, S. A. et al. Astrophys. J. 660, L35–L38 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gültekin, K. et al. Astrophys. J. 698, 198–221 (2009).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Larson, R. B. Rep. Prog. Phys. 73, 014901 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hopkins, P. F. & Quataert, E. Preprint at http://arxiv.org/abs/0912.3257 (2009).

  12. Bekenstein, J. D. Contemp. Phys. 47, 387–403 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Blackman, E. What's hot and what's not. Nature Phys 6, 84–85 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1524

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1524

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing