General Relativity

The book is based on the course on general relativity given regularly at the Physics Department of Novosibirsk University. The course, lasting for one semester, consists of 32 hours of lectures and 32 hours of tutorials, plus ho- work of 10 – 12 problems. The exam is passed by 30 – 35 students. The results of the homework and exam give good reasons to believe that at least 20 – 25 of these students really digest the subject. The course requires of students the knowledge of analytical mechanics and classical electrodynamics, including special relativity. Only chapters 7 and 10 of the book are in this respect exceptions: the acquaintance with the notion of spin is useful for studying chapter 7, the fundamentals of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics are necessary for the last chapter. But these parts of thebookcanbeskippedwithoutanylossforunderstandingallotherchapters. The book (as well as the course itself) is in?uenced essentially by the monographbyL.D.LandauandE.M.Lifshitz,TheClassicalTheoryofFields, (Butterworth – Heinemann, 1975). However, I strived to make the exposition as close as possible to a common university course of physics, to make it accessible not only for theorists. Dealing with general relativity, this work provides a discussion of general relativistic effects for readers who have knowledge of classical mechanics and electrodynamics, including special relativity. The coverage includes: gravitational lensing, signalretardation in the gravitational field of the Sun, the Reissner-Nordstrom solution, and more Content: Particle in Gravitational Field.- Fundamentals of Riemann Geometry.- Einstein Equations.- Weak Field. Observable Effects.- Variational Principle. Exact Solutions.- Interaction of Spin with Gravitational Field.- Gravitational Waves.- General Relativity and Cosmology.- Are Black Holes Really Black?. "This book offers an alternative to other textbooks on the subject, providing a more specific discussion of numerous general relativistic effects for readers who have knowledge of classical mechanics and electrodynamics, including special relativity."--Jacket