Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology

A Basic Introduction

Ta-Pei Cheng (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

456 Seiten

2009 | 2nd Revised edition
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-957364-6 (ISBN)

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This book provides an introduction to Einstein's general theory of relativity. A "physics-first" approach is adopted so that interesting applications come before the more difficult task of solving the Einstein equation. The book includes extensive coverage of cosmology, and is designed to allow readers to study the subject alone.

Einstein's general theory of relativity is introduced in this advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level textbook. Topics include special relativity, in the formalism of Minkowski's four-dimensional space-time, the principle of equivalence, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis, Einstein field equation, as well as many modern cosmological subjects, from primordial inflation and cosmic microwave anisotropy to the dark energy that propels an accelerating universe.
The author presents the subject with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus. The reader first learns how to describe curved spacetime. At this mathematically more accessible level, the reader can already study the many interesting phenomena such as gravitational lensing, precession of Mercury's perihelion, black holes, and cosmology. The full tensor formulation is presented later, when the Einstein equation is solved for a few symmetric cases. Many modern topics in cosmology are discussed in this book: from inflation, cosmic microwave anisotropy to the "dark energy" that propels an accelerating universe.
Mathematical accessibility, together with the various pedagogical devices (e.g., worked-out solutions of chapter-end problems), make it practical for interested readers to use the book to study general relativity and cosmology on their own.

Ta-Pei Cheng is currently Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He took his Ph.D. at Rockefeller University in 1969, followed by post-doctoral study at Rockefeller University and at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton). He has been on the faculty of University of Missouri - St. Louis from 1973 to the present day, and was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1982.

I: PRELIMINARIES; II: RELATIVITY - METRIC DESCRIPTION OF SPACETIME; III: COSMOLOGY; IV: RELATIVITY - FULL TENSOR FORMULATION

Erscheint lt. Verlag	5.11.2009
Reihe/Serie	Oxford Master Series in Physics ; 11
Zusatzinfo	240 line ilustrations
Verlagsort	Oxford
Sprache	englisch
Maße	188 x 246 mm
Gewicht	872 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Relativitätstheorie
ISBN-10	0-19-957364-6 / 0199573646
ISBN-13	978-0-19-957364-6 / 9780199573646
Zustand	Neuware