Authors: Stefano Bellucci, Sergio Ferrara, Alessio Marrani

The present extensive lecture supplies a pedagogical introduction, at the
non-expert level, to the attractor mechanism in space-time singularities.
In such a framework, supersymmetry seems to be related to dynamical systems
with fixed points, describing the equilibrium state and the stability
features of the thermodynamics of black holes. After a qualitative overview,
explicit examples realizing the attractor mechanism are treated at some
length; they include relevant cases of asymptotically flat, maximal and
non-maximal, extended supergravities in 4 and 5 dimensions. A number of
recent advances along various directions of research on the attractor
mechanism are also given.

Download File Size:2.6 MB

---