Berkeley Scientific Journal

The creation and evolution of black holes have been the subject of ongoing debate and investigation due to their elusive nature, specifically in the mass distribution of stellar mass black holes. Using data and observations of changes in the remnant mass of stars, a mass distribution function for black hole formation was created. Coupled with an analysis of heavy element production, there is discussion of the mass minimum needed by a single-star stellar system to form a black hole. It can be concluded at the end of this paper that stellar progenitor systems of 20 or more solar masses with helium cores experience a fallback that propels the compact object past the maximum mass of a neutron star. This instigates its collapse into a black hole. According to current models, it can also be shown that progenitors surpassing 40M give rise to black holes without a preceding supernova explosion.