General Relativity, Astrophysics, and Cosmology

A.K. Raychaudhuri, S. Banerji, A. Banerjee (Autoren)

Buch | Softcover

312 Seiten

2003 | Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1992
Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
978-0-387-40628-2 (ISBN)

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For about half a century the general theory of relativity attracted little attention from physicists. However, the discovery of compact objects such as quasars and pulsars, as well as candidates for black holes on the one hand, and the microwave background radiation on the other hand completely changed the picture. In addition, developments in elementary particle physics, such as predictions of the behavior of matter at the ultrahigh energies that might have prevailed in the early stages of the big bang, have greatly en hanced the interest in general relativity. These developments created a large body of readers interested in general relativity, and its applications in astrophysics and cosmology. Having neither the time nor the inclination to delve deeply into the technical literature, such readers need a general introduction to the subject before exploring applica tions. It is for these readers that the present volume is intended. Keeping in mind the broad range of interests and wanting to avoid mathematical compli cations as much as possible, we have ventured to combine all three topics relativity, astrophysics, and cosmology-in a single volume. Naturally, we had to make a careful selection of topics to be discussed in order to keep the book to a manageable length.

I. The General Theory of Relativity.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Tensor Calculus and Riemannian Geometry.- 3. Einstein’s Field Equations.- 4. The Schwarzschild Metric and Crucial Tests.- 5. Electromagnetism in General Relativity.- 6. Axially Symmetric Fields.- 7. The Kerr Metric or the Rotating Black Hole.- 8. The Energy—Momentum Pseudotensor of the Gravitational Field and Loss of Energy by Gravitational Radiation.- 9. Analysis of the Observational Data of the Hulse—Taylor Pulsar. Confirmation of the Einstein Quadrupole Radiation Formula.- II. Relativistic Astrophysics.- 10. White Dwarf Stars.- 11. Stellar Evolution, Supernovae, and Compact Objects.- 12. Pulsars.- 13. Spherically Symmetric Star Models.- 14. Black Holes.- 15. Accretion onto Compact Objects.- III. Cosmology.- 16. The Standard Cosmological Model.- 17. The Singularity Problem.- 18. Thermal History of the Universe—Cosmological Nucleosynthesis.- 19. Structure Formation in the Universe.- 20. Grand Unified Theory and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking.- 21. The Inflationary Scenario.- 22. Concluding Remarks.- Appendix. Differential Forms.- A.1. Introductory Ideas and Definitions.- A.2. Connection 1-Forms and Ricci Rotation Coefficients.- A.3. Cartan’s Equations of Structure.- A.4. Bianchi Identities and Symmetry Properties of the Riemann—Christoffel Tensor.- A.5. An Example of the Calculation of the Riemann—Christoffel Tensor.- References.

Reihe/Serie	Astronomy and Astrophysics Library
Zusatzinfo	2 Illustrations, black and white; 312 p. 2 illus.
Verlagsort	New York, NY
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Theoretische Physik
ISBN-10	0-387-40628-X / 038740628X
ISBN-13	978-0-387-40628-2 / 9780387406282
Zustand	Neuware