Relativity on Curved Manifolds

by F. de Felice, C. J. S. Clarke

Overview

General relativity is now essential to the understanding of modern physics, but the power of the theory cannot be exploited fully without a detailed knowledge of its mathematical structure. This book aims to implement this structure, and then to develop those applications that have been central to the growth of the theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521266390
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/25/1990
Series:	Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.38(d)

Table of Contents

Geometry and physics: an overview; 1. The background manifold structure; 2. Differentiation; 3. The curvature; 4. Space-time and tetrad formalism; 5. Spinors and the classification of the Weyl tensor; 6. Coupling between fields and geometry; 7. Dynamics on curved manifolds; 8. Geometry of congruences; 9. Physical measurements in space-time; 10. Spherically symmetric solutions; 11. Axially symmetric solutions; References; Notation; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent monograph describes in detail the mathematical structure of Einstein's general theory of relativity, and the mathematical techniques that are associated with it. It is a completely self-contained exposition, which collects many important general results relating to the classical theory that are not readily available in the literature. It will be of great value to anyone who is already familiar with the theory, and who requires a deeper technical knowledge than is presented in most current textbooks." Mathematical Reviews

"...the authors present a book on general relativity which, on one hand, is mathematically rigorous and, on the other hand, contains good physics by emphasizing what is measurable on curved manifolds. Even those readers who are interested in more applications, such as e.g. gravitational lensing, can find all the tools necessary in this book even though this item cannot be found in the index. Thus the book can strongly be recommended to mathematicians and physicists as well." Classical and Quantum Gravity

"This is an excellent book and admirably lives up to the promise implied in its title in giving a thorough treatment of the mathematical structure underlying the theory of general relativity." The Observatory

"...a valuable reference work, particularly for its mathematical introduction and its treatment of the other topics mentioned above." Robert M. Wald, Foundations of Physics

"...provides more in details in various formalisms than do many comparable relativity books. It should prove to be a very good supplementary book for a graduate course on general relativity, or it might serve as a reference book for researchers..." K.K. Lee, Physics in Canada

From the Publisher