The Attractor Mechanism

Book excerpt: This book is based upon lectures presented in June 2007 at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati School on Attractor Mechanism, directed by Stefano Bellucci. The symposium included such prestigious lecturers as S. Ferrara, M. Günaydin, P. Levay, and T. Mohaupt. All lectures were given at a pedagogical, introductory level, which is reflected in the specific "flavor" of this volume. The book also benefits from extensive discussions about, and related reworking of, the various contributions. In addition, this volume contains contributions originating from short presentations of recent original results and an essay on the relation between complexity science and high-energy physics by A. Zichichi. It is the fourth volume in a series of books on the general topics of supersymmetry, supergravity, black holes and the attractor mechanism.