This book is aimed at students making the transition from a first course on general relativity to a specialized subfield. It presents a variety of topics under the general headings of gravitational waves in vacuo and in a cosmological setting, equations of motion, and black holes, all having a clear physical relevance and a strong emphasis on space-time geometry.
Each chapter could be used as a basis for an early postgraduate project for those who are exploring avenues into research in general relativity and who have already accumulated the required technical knowledge. The presentation of each chapter is research monograph style, rather than text book style, in order to impress on interested students the need to present their research in a clear and concise format. Students with advanced preparation in general relativity theory might find a treasure trove here.
Recenzijos
I would recommend this book for people planning a career in General Relativity research or who are considering embarking on a PhD concerning some aspect of this subject. * John Bartlett, IMA *
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1 | (9) |
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1.1 Lorentz tansformations |
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1 | (2) |
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1.2 Non-singular and singular Lorentz transformations |
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3 | (3) |
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1.3 Infinitesimal Lorentz transformations |
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6 | (2) |
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1.4 Geometrical construction of a gravitational wave |
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8 | (2) |
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2 Plane gravitational waves |
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10 | (18) |
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2.1 From linear approximation to colliding waves |
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10 | (7) |
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2.2 Electromagnetic shock waves |
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17 | (4) |
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2.3 Gravitational shock waves |
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21 | (3) |
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2.4 High-frequency gravity waves |
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24 | (4) |
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28 | (28) |
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28 | (5) |
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3.2 Example of a background space-time |
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33 | (4) |
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3.3 Equations of motion of a Reissner-Nordstrom particle in first approximation |
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37 | (2) |
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3.4 Background space-time for a Kerr particle |
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39 | (6) |
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3.5 Equations of motion of a Kerr particle in first approximation |
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45 | (8) |
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3.6 Spinning test particles |
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53 | (3) |
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4 Inhomogeneous aspects of cosmology |
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56 | (23) |
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4.1 Plane-fronted gravitational waves with a cosmological constant |
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56 | (4) |
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4.2 Perturbations of isotropic cosmologies |
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60 | (4) |
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64 | (9) |
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4.4 Cosmic background radiation |
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73 | (6) |
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79 | (39) |
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5.1 Introduction: Basic properties of black holes |
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79 | (7) |
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5.2 Collapsing null shells and trapped surface formation |
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86 | (5) |
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5.3 Scattering properties of high-speed Kerr black holes |
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91 | (12) |
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5.4 Inside the black hole |
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103 | (7) |
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5.5 Metric fluctuations and Hawking radiation |
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110 | (8) |
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6 Higher dimensional black holes |
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118 | (13) |
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6.1 Brief outline of D-dimensional black holes |
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119 | (3) |
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6.2 Gibbons-Penrose isoperimetric inequality and the hoop conjecture in D dimensions |
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122 | (2) |
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6.3 Light-like boost of higher dimensional black holes |
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124 | (7) |
Appendix A Notation |
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131 | (2) |
Appendix B Transport law for k along r = 0 |
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133 | (2) |
Appendix C Some useful scalar products |
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135 | (2) |
References |
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137 | (5) |
Index |
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142 | |
C. Barrabčs: Research Fellow previously: Département d'Astrophysique Relativiste et Cosmologie, CNRS Observatoire de Paris-Meudon and Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Physique Théorique, UMR 7350-CNRS Université de Tours. ; P. A. Hogan: Research Fellow previously: School of Theoretical Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Center for Relativity, University of Texas at Austin and School of Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin.