Gravitation and Spacetime
3rd Edition
Published on 30. April 2013
978-1-139-60337-9 (ISBN)
Description
The third edition of this classic textbook is a quantitative introduction for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. It gently guides students from Newton's gravitational theory to special relativity, and then to the relativistic theory of gravitation. General relativity is approached from several perspectives: as a theory constructed by analogy with Maxwell's electrodynamics, as a relativistic generalization of Newton's theory, and as a theory of curved spacetime. The authors provide a concise overview of the important concepts and formulas, coupled with the experimental results underpinning the latest research in the field. Numerous exercises in Newtonian gravitational theory and Maxwell's equations help students master essential concepts for advanced work in general relativity, while detailed spacetime diagrams encourage them to think in terms of four-dimensional geometry. Featuring comprehensive reviews of recent experimental and observational data, the text concludes with chapters on cosmology and the physics of the Big Bang and inflation.
Reviews / Votes
'A most welcome updated third edition of this splendid textbook on gravitation and spacetime, which provides an excellent introduction to the mathematical and physical foundations underlying our current understanding of the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars, black holes, and gamma ray bursts.' Riccardo Giacconi, Nobel Laureate and University Professor, Johns Hopkins University 'This is by far the best grad[uate] level text in gravitational physics. It starts by showing that the natural Lorentz invariant generalisation of Newton's scalar potential is a tensor, a perturbation of the usual Lorentz metric. The equivalence principle is then used to derive the full equations of GR. The last half of the book gives a beautiful treatment of black holes and the current model of Big Bang cosmology.' Roy P. Kerr, Professor Emeritus, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 'The third edition of this wonderful book combines even more perfectly than the previous editions the beauty of Einstein's General Relativity with the physics of stars, galaxies, and the cosmos. It manages to do this in only 500 pages in a pedagogical masterpiece that should be a must for any graduate student in theoretical physics.' Hagen Kleinert, Freie Universitaet Berlin and ICRANet Review of the first edition: 'The best book on the market today of 500 pages or less on gravitation and general relativity.' John Wheeler, Princeton University 'I wish I had owned this book when I was trying to teach myself General Relativity for the first time.' The ObservatoryMore details
Edition
3rd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 24 Tables, unspecified; 205 Halftones, unspecified
File size
18,18 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-139-60337-9 (9781139603379)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Hans C. Ohanian | Remo Ruffini
Gravitation and Spacetime
Book
04/2013
3rd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€106.10
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Hans C. Ohanian received his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD from Princeton University, where he worked with John A. Wheeler. He has taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Vermont, and in summer courses at UNED in Spain. He has published several textbooks in addition to Gravity and Spacetime, including Classical Electrodynamics and Principles of Quantum Mechanics, as well as articles on various aspects of relativity and quantum theory. Remo Ruffini is the Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Rome, where he received his PhD, and has also taught at Princeton University. He is an editor of the International Journal of Modern Physics and has acted as an advisor to NASA and the Italian Space Agency. In addition to Gravitation and Spacetime, his published works include Cosmology from Space Platforms, Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, Basic Concepts in Relativistic Astrophysics, Gamow Cosmology and various articles and edited volumes.
Content
Preface; 1. Newton's gravitational theory; 2. The formalism of special relativity; 3. The linear approximation; 4. Applications of the linear approximation; 5. Gravitational waves; 6. Riemannian geometry; 7. Einstein's gravitational theory; 8. Black holes and gravitational collapse; 9. Cosmology; 10. The early universe; Appendix: variational principle and energy-momentum tensor; Answers; Index.
