Gravitation

Spacetime physics -- Physics in flat spacetime -- The mathematics of curved spacetime -- Einstein's geometric theory of gravity -- Relativistic stars -- The universe -- Gravitational collapse and black holes -- Gravitational waves -- Experimental tests of general relativity -- Frontiers

This concise monograph is intended for students and scientists specializing in contemporary field theory, gravitation theory and modern differential geometry. The gauge theory as presented by the authors, incorporates Einstein's gravity into the universal picture of fundamental interactions and clarifies its physical nature as a Higgs field. A key point advanced here is the spontaneous breakdown of space-time symmetries according to the equivalence principle. The jet manifold generalization of the fibre bundle machinery is used to describe this symmetry breaking, degenerate Hamiltonian systems and general connections.

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.

Devoted to the history of general relativity, this text provides reviews from scholars all over the world. Many of the papers originated at the Third International Conference on the History of General Relativity, held at the University of Pittsburgh in the summer of 1991. Topics covered include: disputes with Einstein; the empirical basis of general relativity; variational principles in general relativity; the reception and development of general relativity; and cosmology and general relativity.

This text provides a quantitative introduction to general relativity for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

A collection of reviews by prominent researchers in cosmology, relativity and particle physics commemorates the 300th anniversary of Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

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Some time ago I published a small piece * dealing with a charming little essay on 'the state of ether in magnetic fields', which the sixteen-year-old Einstein had written while he was awaiting admission to the E. T. H. in Zurich. This paper sought to trace the continuity between Einstein's early interest in electrodynamics and his later work on the special and general relativity theories. On reading this paper, Professor Eugene Wigner asked me whether David Hilbert had not independently discovered the field equations of gravitation. ** His impression from his stay in Gottingen (where Wigner had been Hilbert's assistant for one year in the late nineteen-twenties) was that Hilbert had indeed done so, and he asked me if it was true. I replied to Professor Wigner about Hilbert's contribution to the theory of gravitation. t He kindly encouraged me to expand my account to deal with the intricate and exciting details of the early years in the formulation of the general relativity theory of gravitation. This is what I have sought to do in this study. Albert Einstein created the general relativity theory of gravitation and dominated its development through the rest of his life. His early work on the theory of gravitation, from 1912 to 1916, had the drama of high adventure. It culminated in the establishment of its foundations which have remained unassailed by the theoretical and experimental work of succeeding decades.