General Relativity: The Essentials

Auteur

Carlo Rovelli is Director of the Quantum Gravity group at the Centre de Physique Théorique of Aix-Marseille University; he also holds positions at the University of Western Ontario and the Perimeter Institute in Canada. Among his academic contributions in theoretical physics, he is best known as one of the formulators of Loop Quantum Gravity. He has written two monographs for Cambridge University Press, Quantum Gravity (2004) and (with Francesca Vidotto) Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity (2014). He is also the author of several international bestsellers in popular science such as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2016) and The Order of Time (2019).

Texte du rabat

A straightforward introduction to General Relativity, explaining the physical, philosophical and mathematical ideas it is built on.

Résumé
Renowned physicist and author Carlo Rovelli gives a straightforward introduction to General Relativity, our current theory of gravitation. Focusing on conceptual clarity, he derives all the basic results in the simplest way, explaining the central physical, philosophical and mathematical ideas for readers going beyond a popular science level.

Contenu

What is General Relativity? Part I. Bases: 1. Physics: a field theory for gravity; 2. Philosophy: what are space and time? 3. Mathematics: curved space; Part II. The Theory: 4. Basic equations; 5. Action; 6. Symmetries and interpretation; Part III. Applications: 7. Newtonian limit; 8. Gravitational waves; 9. Cosmology; 10. The field of a mass; 11. Black holes; 12. Elements of quantum gravity; Index.