Einstein's General Theory of Relativity

'This book introduces the general theory of relativity, includes applications to cosmology, and provides a thorough introduction to tensor calculus and curved manifolds. Also included are some advanced topics not previously covered by textbooks, including Kaluza-Klein theory, Israel's formalism and branes.

The book introduces the general theory of relativity and includes applications to cosmology. The book contains a thorough introduction to tensor calculus and curved manifolds. After the necessary mathematical tools are introduced, we give a thorough presentation of the theory of relativity. Also, some advanced topics not previously covered by textbooks; e.g. Kaluza-Klein theory, Israel's formalism and branes. Anisotropic cosmological models are also included.

The book contains a large number of new exercises and examples, each with separate headings. The reader will get an updated introduction to general relativity including the most recent developments in cosmology.

The book has over 200 pages with modern applications of the theory mostly in cosmology Several of these topics have been developed recently and are not present in other textbooks Standard model of cosmology discussed in detail as well as alternatives to the standard FRW cosmology Modern powerful techniques and tools some of which are indespensible for the modern researcher discussed Techniques then used on some alternative theories of gravity i.e. brane-worlds and other higher- dimensional theories Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Both authors are researchers in general relativity with particular emphasis on cosmology. They have earned the following honors: Illustrert Vitenskaps research prize (1988), The King's Gold Medal (1990), 2nd prize, Smith-Knight Rayleight-Knight prizes, Cambridge University (2003), and Research Prize of Oslo College of Engineering (2004).

Klappentext

Many of us have experienced the same; fallen and broken something. Yet supposedly, gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces; it is claimed to be 10-15 times weaker than electromagnetism. Still, every one of us has more or less had a personal relationship with gravity.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity: With Modern Applications in Cosmology by Oyvind Gron and Sigbjorn Hervik is about gravity and the concept of gravity as Albert Einstein saw it- curved spaces, four-dimensional manifolds and geodesics. The book starts with the 1st principals of relativity and an introduction to Einstein's field equations. Next up are the three classical tests of the relativity theory and an introduction to black holes.

The book contains several topics not found in other textbooks, such as Kaluza-Klein theory, anisotropic models of the universe, and new developments involving brane cosmology.

Gron and Hervik have included a part in the book called "Advanced Topics." These topics range from the very edge of research to older, accepted ideas. In particular, the last two chapters deal with Einstein gravity in five dimensions, which has been a hot topic of research in recent years.

On one final note, cosmology has also proven to be a very important testing arena for the general theory of relativity and a large part of the book is therefore devoted to this subject.

Inhalt
Introduction: Newtonian Physics And Special Relativity.- Relativity Principles and Gravitation.- The Special Theory of Relativity.- The Mathematics Of The General Theory Of Relativity.- Vectors, Tensors, and Forms.- Basis Vector Fields and the Metric Tensor.- Non-inertial Reference Frames.- Differentiation, Connections, and Integration.- Curvature.- Einstein's Field Equations.- Einstein's Field Equations.- The Linear Field Approximation.- The Schwarzschild Solution and Black Holes.- Cosmology.- Homogeneous and Isotropic Universe Models.- Universe Models with Vacuum Energy.- Anisotropic and Inhomogeneous Universe Models.- Advanced Topics.- Covariant Decomposition, Singularities, and Canonical Cosmology.- Spatially Homogeneous Universe Models.- Israel's Formalism: The Metric Junction Method.- Brane-worlds.- Kaluza-Klein Theory.