Rotating Fields in General Relativity

by Jamal Nazrul Islam

The aim of this book is to introduce the reader to research work on a particular aspect of rotating fields in general relativity. The account begins with a short introduction to the relevant aspects of general relativity, written at a level accessible to a beginning graduate student in theoretical physics. There follows a detailed derivation of the Wehl-Lewis-Papapetrou form of the stationary axially symmetric metric. The Kerr and Tomimatsu-Sato forms of the rotating interior and exterior solutions of the Einstein equations are then discussed. The last three chapters of the book illustrate the applications of the theory to rotating neutral dust, rotating Einstein-Maxwell fields, and rotating charged dust. The author has drawn on his own research work to produce a timely discussion of this important area of research.

136 pages, Hardcover

First published July 26, 1985

About the author

Jamal Nazrul Islam (Bengali : জামাল নজরুল ইসলাম) was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong. He also served as the director of the Research Center for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (RCMPS) at the University of Chittagong.

He received a BSc degree from St. Xavier's College at the University of Calcutta. In 1959, he got his Honors in Functional Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University. He completed his Masters in 1960. A student of the Trinity College, he finished the Mathematical Tripos. Islam obtained his PhD in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1968, followed by a DSc in 1982.

Islam worked in the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (later amalgamated to Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge) from 1967 until 1971. Later he worked as a researcher in California Institute of Technology and University of Washington. During 1973-1974 he served as the faculty of Applied Mathematics of King's College London. In 1978 he then joined the faculty of City University London until he returned to Chittagong in 1984. Until his death he served as Professor Emeritus at the University of Chittagong.

His research areas include Applied Mathematics, Theoretical Physics, Mathematical Physics, theory of Gravitation, General Relativity, Mathematical Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory. Islam authored/coauthored/edited more than 50 scientific articles, books and some popular articles published in various scientific journals. Besides this he has also written books in Bengali. Particularly noteworthy are Black Hole, published from the Bangla Academy, “The Mother Tongue, Scientific Research and other Articles” and “Art, Literature and Society”. The latter two are compilations.