Astronomy 640: General Relativity
- Gravity basics: equivalence principles;
relationship of inertia & gravity
- Classical scalar, tensor, and vector
theories: gravity in flat space-time
- Connections, metrics, geodesic equation:
coordinates in curved space-time; free-fall
trajectories of particles & photons
- Tensors: parallel transport, covariance;
geometrical objects & derivatives
- Stress tensor: fluids; models of
mass-energy in GR
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- Curvature tensor, field equation: how
mass-energy curves space-time
- Spherically symmetric solutions:
classical tests, Schwarzschild metric, black
holes, Solar-System predictions
- Gravitomagnetic solutions: weak-field
limit, dragging of inertial frames
- Gravitational radiation: properties,
astrophysical sources, detectors
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This outline is representative only, and is likely to
change from instructor to instructor and from year to
year.
Recent instructors
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