The Latin American Symposium on Relativity and Gravitation has been held every two or three years over the past twenty years. This is the seventh in the series.
Written by a well-known author in the field, this book presents a modern understanding of the universe based on relativity, quantum physics and their elusive combination. It introduces the crucial theoretical ingredients in an accessible way, starting from the physics of Newton and developing subsequent theories all the way to the modern enigma of quantum gravity. The intermediate level presentation assumes only a general knowledge of math and physics, adopting a "two-level" approach: equations are retained throughout the chapters but set apart from the main text in boxes to allow for lay readers to understand the book. For scientists, researchers, students and lecturers in cosmology, astronomy, gravitation, quantum and theoretical physics; as well as mathematicians, students, lecturers, academics and non-experts in related fields with an interest in the subject.
Quantum gravity is perhaps the most important open problem in fundamental physics. It is the problem of merging quantum mechanics and general relativity, the two great conceptual revolutions in the physics of the twentieth century. The loop and spinfoam approach, presented in this 2004 book, is one of the leading research programs in the field. The first part of the book discusses the reformulation of the basis of classical and quantum Hamiltonian physics required by general relativity. The second part covers the basic technical research directions. Appendices include a detailed history of the subject of quantum gravity, hard-to-find mathematical material, and a discussion of some philosophical issues raised by the subject. This fascinating text is ideal for graduate students entering the field, as well as researchers already working in quantum gravity. It will also appeal to philosophers and other scholars interested in the nature of space and time.
In early April 1911 Albert Einstein arrived in Prague to become full professor of theoretical physics at the German part of Charles University. It was there, for the first time, that he concentrated primarily on the problem of gravitation. Before he left Prague in July 1912 he had submitted the paper “Relativität und Gravitation: Erwiderung auf eine Bemerkung von M. Abraham” in which he remarkably anticipated what a future theory of gravity should look like. At the occasion of the Einstein-in-Prague centenary an international meeting was organized under a title inspired by Einstein's last paper from the Prague period: "Relativity and Gravitation, 100 Years after Einstein in Prague". The main topics of the conference included: classical relativity, numerical relativity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology, quantum gravity, experimental aspects of gravitation and conceptual and historical issues. The conference attracted over 200 scientists from 31 countries, among them a number of leading experts in the field of general relativity and its applications. This volume includes abstracts of the plenary talks and full texts of contributed talks and articles based on the posters presented at the conference. These describe primarily original results of the authors. Full texts of the plenary talks are included in the volume "General Relativity, Cosmology and Astrophysics--Perspectives 100 Years after Einstein in Prague", eds. J. Bičák and T. Ledvinka, published also by Springer Verlag.
Classical and quantum gravity covers all aspects of gravitational physics and the theory of spacetime. This new book presents topical research in the study of classical and quantum gravity, including the weak field limit of fourth order gravity; the problem of time in quantum gravity; quantum correction and entropy spectrum in different gravity; quantum instability for charged particles on charged Nariai Black Holes and the equivalence of the generalised tetra formalism with the theory of general relativity.
This volume is made up of papers presented at the Conference on Classical General Relativity held at the City University, London, in December 1983. New tests, arising from space experimentation, pulsars and black holes have revitalised the study of Einstein's theory of gravitation (classical general relativity). Nineteen contributors survey recent progress and identify future avenues of research.
Einstein's general theory of relativity — currently our best theory of gravity — is important not only to specialists, but to a much wider group of physicists. This short textbook on general relativity and gravitation offers students glimpses of the vast landscape of science connected to general relativity. It incorporates some of the latest research in the field. The book is aimed at readers with a broad range of interests in physics, from cosmology, to gravitational radiation, to high energy physics, to condensed matter theory. The pedagogical approach is "physics first": readers move very quickly to the calculation of observational predictions, and only return to the mathematical foundations after the physics is established. In addition to the "standard" topics covered by most introductory textbooks, it contains short introductions to more advanced topics: for instance, why field equations are second order, how to treat gravitational energy, and what is required for a Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity. A concluding chapter discusses directions for further study, from mathematical relativity, to experimental tests, to quantum gravity. This is an introductory text, but it has also been written as a jumping-off point for readers who plan to study more specialized topics.
This book provides an up-to-date understanding of the progress and current problems of the interplay of nonlocality in the classical theories of gravitation and quantum theory. These problems lie on the border between general relativity and quantum physics, including quantum gravity.