Relativity, Gravitation, and Cosmology: A Basic Introduction

by Ta-Pei Cheng

Einstein's general theory of relativity is introduced in this advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level textbook. Topics include special relativity in the formalism of Minkowski's four-dimensional space-time, the principle of equivalence, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis,
Einstein's field equation and cosmology. The author presents the subject from the very beginning with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus. One first learns how to describe curved spacetime. At this mathematically more accessible level, the
reader can already study the many interesting phenomena such as gravitational lensing, precession of Mercury's perihelion, black holes, as well as cosmology. The full tensor formulation is presented later, when the Einstein equation is solved for a few symmetric cases. Many modern topics in
cosmology are discussed in this from inflation and cosmic microwave anisotropy to the "dark energy" that propels as accelerating universe. Mathematical accessibility, together with the various pedagogical devices (e.g., worked-out solutions of chapter-end problems), make it practical for
interested readers to use the book to study general relativity, gravitation and cosmology on their own.

Genres: Physics, Science, Nonfiction, Textbooks

360 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2004

Reviews

[Huyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has always bugged me that I don't actually have a favourite physics pop-sci book. The Fabric of the Cosmos used to be one, I remember how amazed I was when I read it in second year. Not any more. Over time, I just get kinda bored with how physics is hitting a dead end with speculative stuff. And physics pop sci books try to simplify things to make it accessible, (which is an admirable endeavour in and of itself), but they simplify so much that nothing even makes sense any more. I often have this nagging feeling "ok, I'll trust you what you say is true, but I don't know why I should and where this comes from." Unless I see the math, I never feel fully convinced. I gradually realized that for me a physics book is much less interesting and useful if it doesn't have math in it. But what I never knew is that technical books can actually be just as inspiring and fascinating as pop sci. Which is exactly what I felt about this book.

I became very appreciative of the fact that now I can (sort of) grasp general relativity, and understand the math in the things that I always come across: bending of light in gravitational field, precession of Mercury's perihilion, detection of gravity wave, relating redshift and expansion of the universe. I mean in a rigorous and mathematical derivation, not hand-waving stuff. And I am just in awe of how beautiful the math is, that feeling of "ah, now I know where that comes from in the equation" is really really amazing.

I get very fascinated by the cosmology stuff presented in this book, to appreciate even more how incredibly difficult it is do seemingly simple things like measuring distances or using gravitational lensing. The good news is although cosmology is fraught with fudging parameters, observational data are constantly coming out (unlike particle physics). And the fact that from a purely philosophical field teemed with downright lunacy just a century ago (back then the earth was believed to be older than the sun), it's becoming an empirical and mathematically rigorous field, is pretty remarkable in itself. Although only an introductory text, it explains and raises a lot of interesting questions in forefront physics: why is the cosmological constant so small in particle physics standard? what is the inflation field? did our universe really decelerate before accelerating? Truly mind-blowing and exciting stuff.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in modern cosmology with a decent background in math.
(more interesting stuff to be added)

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best introduction to General and Special Relativity I have ever read! I got frustrated trying to self study from Schutz, Hartle and Carroll simply because there was no way to check if I was doing the exercises correctly. They are all well written books, but if you want to learn GR on your own this is the book to start with. Most answers are included and there are plenty of worked examples.