Written by an international leader in the field, this is a coherent and accessible account of the concepts that are now vital for understanding cutting-edge work on supermassive black holes. These include accretion disc misalignment, disc breaking and tearing, chaotic accretion, the merging of binary supermassive holes, the demographics of supermassive black holes, and the defining effects of feedback on their host galaxies. The treatment is largely analytic and gives in-depth discussions of the underlying physics, including gas dynamics, ideal and non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics, force-free electrodynamics, accretion disc physics, and the properties of the Kerr metric. It stresses aspects where conventional assumptions may be inappropriate and encourages the reader to think critically about current models. This volume will be useful for graduate or Masters courses in astrophysics, and as a handbook for active researchers in the field. eBook formats include colour figures while print formats are greyscale only.

‘… this book by a leading researcher is an excellent introduction to the subject. …The work is suitable as a graduate or advanced undergraduate textbook; faculty researchers also will find it a valuable resource. As such, it should certainly be in the collection of every institution with an astrophysics department. … Highly recommended.’

A. Spero Source: Choice

‘With its thorough and dedicated treatment of the captivating physics of supermassive black holes, this book’s arrival could not be more timely, as astonishing advances, including in gravitational waves and event horizon imaging, are inspiring a new generation of students to strive to learn the secrets of these mysterious yet cosmologically ubiquitous objects.’

Amy Barger - University of Wisconsin-Madison

‘In this lucid text, Andrew King gives an insightful introduction to the physics of black holes, astrophysical fluids, and accretion processes. From these foundations, he develops a broad framework for understanding how supermassive black holes may grow by chaotic accretion of gas from their host galaxies.’

Philip Armitage - Stony Brook University

‘Andrew King has taken a fresh approach to the astronomy of supermassive black holes, presenting their core physics clearly and cogently. Congratulations!’

Martin Elvis - Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian