Vol 61, No 4 (2017)

The paper is dedicated to the evolution of the views of I.S. Shklovskii on black holes, his contribution to studies of astrophysical manifestations of black holes, and subsequent studies of these surprising objects.

Astronomical observations of last few years have presented a surprising evidence that the Universe at redshift of order 10 is densely populated by supermassive black holes (quasars), supernovae, and contains very large amount of dust. All these data are in conflict with the canonical theory of quasar and supernova formation. A model is discussed which in a simple and natural way solves all these problem. In addition it explains an existence of supermassive black holes in each large galaxy and even in small ones. An inverted picture of galaxy formation is suggested when primordial black holes serve as seeds of galaxy formation. Simultaneously the origin and properties of black hole binaries, sources of gravitational waves registered by LIGO are explained. As a by-product the model may lead to abundant cosmological antimatter even in the Galaxy.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. It will address fundamental unanswered questions about our Universe including how the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang, how dark energy is accelerating the expansion of theUniverse, the role of magnetism in the cosmos, the nature of gravity, and the search for life beyond Earth. This project envisages the construction of 133 15-m antennas in South Africa and 131072 log-periodic antennas in Australia, together with the associated infrastructure in the two desert sites. In addition, the SKA is an exemplar Big Data project, with data rates of over 10 Tbps being transported from the telescope to HPC/HTC facilities.

Supernovae and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the brightest events in the universe. Excluding Type Ia supernovae and short GRBs, they are the result of the core collapse of a massive star with material being ejectedwith speeds of several 1000 km/s to nearly the speed of light, and with a neutron star or a black hole left over as the compact remnant of the explosion. Synchrotron radiation in the radio is generated in a shell when the ejecta interact with the surrounding medium and possibly also in the central region near the compact remnant itself. VLBI has allowed resolving some of these sources and monitoring their expansion in detail, thereby revealing characteristics of the dying star, the explosion, the expanding shock front, and the expected compact remnant. We report on updates of some of the most interesting results that have been obtained with VLBI so far. Movies of supernovae are available from our website. They show the evolution from shortly after the explosion to decades thereafter, in one case revealing an emerging compact central source, which may be associated with shock interaction near the explosion center or with the stellar corpse itself, a neutron star or a black hole.

The transition from the radio to the millimeter and submillimeter ranges is very promising for studies of galactic nuclei, as well as detailed studies of processes related to supermassive black holes, wormholes, and possible manifestations of multi-element Universe (Multiverse) models. This is shown by observations with the largest interferometer available—RadioAstron observatory—that will be used for the scientific program forMillimetron observatory. Observations have also shown the promise of this range for studies of the formation and evolution of planetary systems and searches for manifestations of intelligent life. This is caused by the requirements to use a large amount of condensedmatter and energy in large-scale technological activities. This range can also be used efficiently in the organisation of optimal channels for the transmission of information.

The results of space studies of the Moon and Mars are considered from the perspective of questions related to the appearance and evolution of life, as presented in the monograph of I.S. Shklovskii “Universe, Life and Razum” (Vselennaya, Zhizn’, Razum [in Russian]).

Numerous supernova outbursts that are correlated in time and space are the main mechanism for the formation of powerful galactic winds and supershells of ionized hydrogen. Information about the dynamics and thermal properties of the gas in shells (bubbles) can be obtained from spectral observations, including those of optical recombination lines. The emission properties of the Hα and Hβ recombination lines and the velocity dispersion of the gas in bubbles formed by numerous supernova outbursts are studied. The appearance of the intensity vs. velocity dispersion (I(H_α)_−σ) diagram depends on the supernova rate and the age of the bubble. The temperature dependence of the I(H_α)/I(H_β) line-intensity ratio (the Balmer decrement) can be used to obtain additional constraints on the evolutionary status of a collective remnant formed by numerous supernova outbursts.

The properties of the object KIC 8462852 or its exoplanets, discovered in the KEPLERmission, remain unexplained. The hypotheses that the object is a swarm of cometary bodies, wreckage from a catastrophic collision of asteroids, or an exoplanet KIC 8462852b encounter serious difficulties, and even contradictions with Kepler’s laws, if the eclipsing object is taken to be a physical body revolving around the central star. The hypothetical orbit of KIC 8462852b does not correspond to the expectations for a Dyson sphere in terms of energetic and other requirements. The mass characteristics of the eclipsing object remain unknown. Material from Boyajian et al. (2015) and subsequent publications on this topic are used.

Signals with infra-low frequencies corresponding to the frequencies of gravitational-wave radiation from known binary star systems have been detected in the electric and magnetic fields of the Earth. The use of a eigenvector and signal-component analyzer has proved effective in detecting energetically not dominant components in time series of the electric and geomagnetic fields. The amplitude and probability characteristics of these signals are estimated.