Skip to:Content
|
Bottom
Cover image for 100 years of relativity : space-time structure : Einstein and beyond
Title:
100 years of relativity : space-time structure : Einstein and beyond
Publication Information:
Singapore : World Scientific, 2006
ISBN:
9789812563941
Added Author:

Available:*

Library
Item Barcode
Call Number
Material Type
Item Category 1
Status
Searching...
30000010101471 QC173.58 H86 2005 Open Access Book Book
Searching...

On Order

Summary

Summary

Thanks to Einstein's relativity theories, our notions of space and time underwent profound revisions about a 100 years ago. The resulting interplay between geometry and physics has dominated all of fundamental physics since then. This volume contains contributions from leading researchers, worldwide, who have thought deeply about the nature and consequences of this interplay. The articles take a long-range view of the subject and distill the most important advances in broad terms, making them easily accessible to non-specialists. The first part is devoted to a summary of how relativity theories were born (J Stachel). The second part discusses the most dramatic ramifications of general relativity, such as black holes (P Chrusciel and R Price), space-time singularities (H Nicolai and A Rendall), gravitational waves (P Laguna and P Saulson), the large scale structure of the cosmos (T Padmanabhan); experimental status of this theory (C Will) as well as its practical application to the GPS system (N Ashby). The last part looks beyond Einstein and provides glimpses into what is in store for us in the 21st century. Contributions here include summaries of radical changes in the notions of space and time that are emerging from quantum field theory in curved space-times (Ford), string theory (T Banks), loop quantum gravity (A Ashtekar), quantum cosmology (M Bojowald), discrete approaches (Dowker, Gambini and Pullin) and twistor theory (R Penrose).


Table of Contents

J. StachelH. NicolaiA. D. RendallP. T. ChruscielR. H. PriceP. LagunaT. PadmanabhanC. M. WillP. R. SaulsonN. AshbyL. H. FordT. BanksA. AshtekarM. BojowaldR. Gambini and J. PullinF. DowkerR. Penrose
Prefacep. v
Part I From Newton to Einstein: Paradigm Shiftsp. 1
1 Development of the Concepts of Space, Time and Space-Time from Newton to Einsteinp. 3
Part II Einstein's Universe: Ramifications of General Relativityp. 37
2 Gravitational Billiards, Dualities and Hidden Symmetriesp. 39
3 The Nature of Spaceime Singularitiesp. 76
4 Black Holes - An Introductionp. 93
5 The Physical Basis of Black Hole Astrophysicsp. 124
6 Probing Space-Time Through Numerical Simulationsp. 152
7 Understanding Our Universe: Current Status and Open Issuesp. 175
8 Was Einstein Right? Testing Relativity at the Centenaryp. 205
9 Receiving Gravitational Wavesp. 228
10 Relativity in the Global Positioning Systemp. 257
Part III Beyond Einstein: Unifying General Relativity with Quantum Physicsp. 291
11 Spacetime in Semiclassical Gravityp. 293
12 Space Time in String Theoryp. 311
13 Quantum Geometry and Its Ramificationsp. 350
14 Loop Quantum Cosmologyp. 382
15 Consistent Discrete Space-Timep. 415
16 Causal Sets and the Deep Structure of Spacetimep. 445
17 The Twistor Approach to Space-Time Structuresp. 465
Indexp. 507
Go to:Top of Page