General Relativity: An Introduction for Physicists
暫譯: 廣義相對論：物理學家的入門指南

Description  

• General Relativity: An Introduction for Physicists provides a clear mathematical introduction to Einstein's theory of general relativity. It presents a wide range of applications of the theory, concentrating on its physical consequences. After reviewing the basic concepts, the authors present a clear and intuitive discussion of the mathematical background, including the necessary tools of tensor calculus and differential geometry. These tools are then used to develop the topic of special relativity and to discuss electromagnetism in Minkowski spacetime. Gravitation as spacetime curvature is then introduced and the field equations of general relativity derived. After applying the theory to a wide range of physical situations, the book concludes with a brief discussion of classical field theory and the derivation of general relativity from a variational principle. Written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this approachable textbook contains over 300 exercises to illuminate and extend the discussion in the text.

  
  • Clear introduction to the mathematical background to general relativity

  
  • A discussion of a wide range of physical applications of the theory

  
  • Self-contained accounts of cosmology and the creation of structure in the universe, and of classical field theory

  
  • Includes 368 exercises to help students grasp material

Table of Contents

1. The spacetime of special relativity

2. Manifolds and coordinates

3. Vector calculus on manifolds

4. Tensor calculus on manifolds

5. Special relativity revisited

6. Electromagnetism

7. The equivalence principle and spacetime curvature

8. The gravitational field equations

9. The Schwarzschild geometry

10. Experimental tests of general relativity

11. Schwarzschild black holes

12. Further spherically-symmetric geometries

13. The Kerr geometry

14. The Friedmann-Robertson-Walker geometry

15. Cosmological models

16. Inflationary cosmology

17. Linearised general relativity

18. Gravitational waves

19. A variational approach to general relativity