Frontiers In General Relativity And Quantum Cosmology Research

Cosmology deals with the nature of the universe. It can be broadly divided into three great ages. The first began in the 6th century BC with the Pythagorean concept of a spherical Earth that is part of a universe in which the motions of the planets are governed by the harmonious relations of natural laws. The second began in the 16th century with the Copernican revolution. This in turn led into Newton's infinite universe. The third began in the early 20th century with Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity and developed into the expanding universe we know today. Einstein's general theory of relativity extended the new space and time concepts of the special theory of relativity from the domain of electric and magnetic phenomena to all of physics and, particularly, to the theory of gravitation. By building on Einstein's previous work on special relativity, general relativity sought to deal with accelerating frames of reference. This in turn led to the principle of equivalence. By dealing with accelerating frames of reference, general relativity provides astronomers with the best theory to predict the effects of gravity. The book examines in detail new and important work in this field.

Covering all aspects of gravitation in a contemporary style, this advanced textbook is ideal for graduate students and researchers in all areas of theoretical physics. The 'Foundation' section develops the formalism in six chapters, and uses it in the next four chapters to discuss four key applications - spherical spacetimes, black holes, gravitational waves and cosmology. The six chapters in the 'Frontier' section describe cosmological perturbation theory, quantum fields in curved spacetime, and the Hamiltonian structure of general relativity, among several other advanced topics, some of which are covered in-depth for the first time in a textbook. The modular structure of the book allows different sections to be combined to suit a variety of courses. Over 200 exercises are included to test and develop the reader's understanding. There are also over 30 projects, which help readers make the transition from the book to their own original research.

This collection of 32 papers generated by an international symposium held in December 2000 at the B.M. Birla Science Centre, where editor Sidarth is based, includes conventional and alternative formulations of topics ranging from cosmology to quantum superstrings and particle physics. Co-editor Altaisky (Laboratory of Information Technologies, Dubna, Russia) elaborates on field theory on a Lie group. Other cosmic topics presented in non-grouped fashion include an anti- grand unification theory, explorations of space-time, quarks as vortices in vacuum, a novel method to solve familiar differential equations and its applications, a new model of gravity waves, and the effect of the expanding universe on fundamental "constants." c. Book News Inc.

This book discusses some of the open questions addressed by researchers in general relativity. Photons and particles play important roles in the theoretical framework, since they are involved in analyzing and measuring gravitational fields and in constructing mathematical models of gravitational fields of various types. The authors highlight this aspect covering topics such as the construction of models of Bateman electromagnetic waves and analogous gravitational waves, the studies of gravitational radiation in presence of a cosmological constant and the gravitational compass or clock compass for providing an operational way of measuring a gravitational field. The book is meant for advanced students and young researchers in general relativity, who look for an updated text which covers in depth the calculations and, equally, takes on new challenges. The reader, along the learning path, is stimulated by provocative examples interspersed in the text that help to find novel representations of the uses of particles and photons.

Containing contributions from leading researchers in this field, this book provides a complete overview of this field from the frontiers of theoretical physics research for graduate students and researchers. It introduces the most current approaches to this problem, and reviews their main achievements.

Covering established and speculative research in cosmology, this is an ideal textbook for advanced students of physics and astrophysics. All of the necessary background material is included in every chapter and no prior knowledge of general relativity and quantum field theory is assumed.