Physics and mathematics students are as eager as ever to become acquainted withthefoundationsofgeneralrelativityandsomeofitsmajorapplicationsin astrophysics and cosmology. I hope that this textbook gives a comprehensive and timelyintroduction toboth aspectsof thisfascinating?eld,and willturn out to be useful for undergraduate and graduate students. This book is a complete revision and extension of my previous volume 'GeneralRelativityandRelativisticAstrophysics'thatappearedabouttwenty years ago in the Springer Series'Texts and Monographs in Physics'; however, it cannot be regarded just as a new edition. In Part I the foundations of general relativity are thoroughly developed. Some of the more advanced topics, such as the section on the initial value problem, can be skipped in a ?rst reading. Part II is devoted to tests of general relativity and many of its app- cations. Binary pulsars - our best laboratories for general relativity - are studied in considerable detail. I have included an introduction to gravi- tional lensing theory, to the extend that the current literature on the subject should become accessible. Much space is devoted to the study of compact objects, especially to black holes. This includes a detailed derivation of the Kerr solution, Israel's proof of his uniqueness theorem, and a derivation of the basic laws of black hole physics. Part II ends with Witten's proof of the positive energy theorem. All the required di?erential geometric tools are developed in Part III.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
From the reviews:
"In this book Norbert Straumann presents a pedagogically precise and highly informative account of both the physical and advanced mathematical concepts that a professional working in this field requires. The essential differential geometry background is placed in an extensive part . . the treatment is both physically rigorous and comprehensive. This book is an important acquisition for anyone working in this area." (Geoffrey Bicknell, Australian Physics, Vol. 42 (4), September/October, 2005)
"This text provides a comprehensive and timely introduction to general relativity. . The book addresses undergraduate and graduate students in physics, astrophysics and mathematics. It is very well structured and should become a standard text for a modern treatment of gravitational physics. The clear presentation of differential geometry makes it also useful for strong theory and other fields of physics, classical as well as quantum." (ETDE Energy Database Energiedatenbank, November, 2004)
"From the earliest sections, Straumann makes absolutely no pretence that this is a beginner's guide to general relativity . . There are points of interest for those disinclined (or unable) to follow the maths in detail. . this book is primarily aimed at those who want to get very, very intimate with the mathematics of general relativity in an astrophysical .. context and who are endowed with a considerable background in all three subjects. . this may be the ultimate specialist textbook." (Roger Feasey, Journal of the Auckland Astronomical Society, 2005)
