A Student's Manual for A First Course in General Relativity

by Robert B. Scott

Overview

This comprehensive student manual has been designed to accompany the leading textbook by Bernard Schutz, A First Course in General Relativity, and uses detailed solutions, cross-referenced to several introductory and more advanced textbooks, to enable self-learners, undergraduates and postgraduates to master general relativity through problem solving. The perfect accompaniment to Schutz's textbook, this manual guides the reader step-by-step through over 200 exercises, with clear easy-to-follow derivations. It provides detailed solutions to almost half of Schutz's exercises, and includes 125 brand new supplementary problems that address the subtle points of each chapter. It includes a comprehensive index and collects useful mathematical results, such as transformation matrices and Christoffel symbols for commonly studied spacetimes, in an appendix. Supported by an online table categorising exercises, a Maple worksheet and an instructors' manual, this text provides an invaluable resource for all students and instructors using Schutz's textbook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107638570
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/21/2016
Edition description:	Student
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Robert B. Scott is a Senior Lecturer with CNRS Chaire d'Excellence at the University of Western Brittany, France, where he specialises in introductory general relativity, special relativity and geophysical fluid dynamics and turbulence.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Special relativity; 2. Vector analysis in special relativity; 3. Tensor analysis in special relativity; 4. Perfect fluids in special relativity; 5. Preface to curvature; 6. Curved manifolds; 7. Physics in curved spacetime; 8. The Einstein field equations; 9. Gravitational radiation; 10. Spherical solutions for stars; 11. Schwarzschild geometry and black holes; 12. Cosmology; Appendix A. Acronyms and definitions; Appendix B. Useful results; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Robert Scott has done a great service to students and instructors alike by compiling this superb Student's Manual to Bernard Schutz's A First Course in General Relativity, a classic introductory textbook on general relativity. Not only does Scott present exquisitely detailed solutions to Schutz's exercises, he also proposes a large number of his own problems to further test the student's understanding. The student will benefit greatly from this resource, and will be eased into the subject by Scott's excellent advice."
Eric Poisson, University of Guelph

"In attempting to master any subject, there is no substitute for working through problems, and this is especially true for developing an understanding of relativity. This collection of solutions to a range of selected problems from Schutz's classic textbook A First Course in General Relativity contains carefully worked model answers that should provide an invaluable resource to generations of students."
Michael Hobson, University of Cambridge

"This Student's Manual, with its detailed calculations and very pedagogical explanations, is an extremely valuable tool for learning general relativity and acquiring a solid foundation in this field. I highly recommend it!"
Eric Gourgoulhon, Université Paris Diderot

'The textbook by Bernard Schutz, A First Course in General Relativity, is one of the best regarded on the subject, and Robert Scott’s ‘student’s manual’ is an extremely good aid… Scott provides clear and detailed explanations and algebra so that the student can navigate through these problems with confidence … It seems to me that Scott’s very helpful volume - which includes a number of further problems set by himself - will prove indispensable to any student who makes use of Schutz, and it may well provide an incentive for students and course directors to base their studies on this text … It might be possible to use Scott’s book, which also includes material on special relativity, as an adjunct to other books on relativity … it might be worthwhile for users of other textbooks to check its compatibility. … this is a book that all students of general relativity should be aware of.' Peter J. Bussey, Contemporary Physics

'This is an excellent companion volume for anyone contemplating teaching a first course in General Relativity … this book is a perfect companion to a textbook …' Paranjape Manu, Physics in Canada

From the Publisher