Ebook: Theory of Gravitational Interactions

This reference textbook is an up-to-date and self-contained introduction to the theory of gravitational interactions. The first part of the book follows the traditional presentation of general relativity as a geometric theory of the macroscopic gravitational field. A second, advanced part then discusses the deep analogies (and differences) between a geometric theory of gravity and the gauge theories of the other fundamental interactions. This fills a gap which is present in the context of the traditional approach to general relativity, and which usually makes students puzzled about the role of gravity. The necessary notions of differential geometry are reduced to the minimum, leaving more room for those aspects of gravitational physics of current phenomenological and theoretical interest, such as the properties of gravitational waves, the gravitational interactions of spinors, and the supersymmetric generalization of the Einstein equations.
Theory of Gravitational Interactions will be of particular value to undergraduate students pursuing a theoretical or astroparticle curriculum. It can also be used by those teaching related subjects, by PhD students and young researchers working in different scientific sectors but wishing to enlarge their spectrum of interests, and, in general, by all scholars interested in the modern aspects and problems of gravitational interaction.

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This reference textbook is an up-to-date and self-contained introduction to the theory of gravitational interactions. The first part of the book follows the traditional presentation of general relativity as a geometric theory of the macroscopic gravitational field. A second, advanced part then discusses the deep analogies (and differences) between a geometric theory of gravity and the gauge theories of the other fundamental interactions. This fills a gap which is present in the context of the traditional approach to general relativity, and which usually makes students puzzled about the role of gravity. The necessary notions of differential geometry are reduced to the minimum, leaving more room for those aspects of gravitational physics of current phenomenological and theoretical interest, such as the properties of gravitational waves, the gravitational interactions of spinors, and the supersymmetric and higher-dimensional generalization of the Einstein equations. Theory of Gravitational Interactions will be of particular value to undergraduate students pursuing a theoretical or astroparticle curriculum. It can also be used by those teaching related subjects, by PhD students and young researchers working in different scientific sectors but wishing to enlarge their spectrum of interests, and, in general, by all scholars interested in the modern aspects and problems of gravitational interaction.

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This reference textbook is an up-to-date and self-contained introduction to the theory of gravitational interactions. The first part of the book follows the traditional presentation of general relativity as a geometric theory of the macroscopic gravitational field. A second, advanced part then discusses the deep analogies (and differences) between a geometric theory of gravity and the gauge theories of the other fundamental interactions. This fills a gap which is present in the context of the traditional approach to general relativity, and which usually makes students puzzled about the role of gravity. The necessary notions of differential geometry are reduced to the minimum, leaving more room for those aspects of gravitational physics of current phenomenological and theoretical interest, such as the properties of gravitational waves, the gravitational interactions of spinors, and the supersymmetric and higher-dimensional generalization of the Einstein equations. Theory of Gravitational Interactions will be of particular value to undergraduate students pursuing a theoretical or astroparticle curriculum. It can also be used by those teaching related subjects, by PhD students and young researchers working in different scientific sectors but wishing to enlarge their spectrum of interests, and, in general, by all scholars interested in the modern aspects and problems of gravitational interaction.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XVI
Elementary Notions of Relativistic Field Theory....Pages 1-25
Towards a Relativistic Theory of Gravity....Pages 27-38
Tensor Calculus in a Riemann Manifold....Pages 39-64
Maxwell Equations and Riemann Geometry....Pages 65-74
Test Bodies and Signals in a Riemann Space–Time....Pages 75-87
Geodesic Deviation and Curvature Tensor....Pages 89-107
The Einstein Equations for the Gravitational Field....Pages 109-133
The Weak-Field Approximation....Pages 135-150
Gravitational Waves....Pages 151-176
The Schwarzschild Solution....Pages 177-197
The Kasner Solution....Pages 199-208
Vierbeins and Lorentz Connection....Pages 209-224
The Dirac Equation in a Gravitational Field....Pages 225-236
Supersymmetry and Supergravity....Pages 237-261
Back Matter....Pages 263-322

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This reference textbook is an up-to-date and self-contained introduction to the theory of gravitational interactions. The first part of the book follows the traditional presentation of general relativity as a geometric theory of the macroscopic gravitational field. A second, advanced part then discusses the deep analogies (and differences) between a geometric theory of gravity and the gauge theories of the other fundamental interactions. This fills a gap which is present in the context of the traditional approach to general relativity, and which usually makes students puzzled about the role of gravity. The necessary notions of differential geometry are reduced to the minimum, leaving more room for those aspects of gravitational physics of current phenomenological and theoretical interest, such as the properties of gravitational waves, the gravitational interactions of spinors, and the supersymmetric and higher-dimensional generalization of the Einstein equations. Theory of Gravitational Interactions will be of particular value to undergraduate students pursuing a theoretical or astroparticle curriculum. It can also be used by those teaching related subjects, by PhD students and young researchers working in different scientific sectors but wishing to enlarge their spectrum of interests, and, in general, by all scholars interested in the modern aspects and problems of gravitational interaction.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XVI
Elementary Notions of Relativistic Field Theory....Pages 1-25
Towards a Relativistic Theory of Gravity....Pages 27-38
Tensor Calculus in a Riemann Manifold....Pages 39-64
Maxwell Equations and Riemann Geometry....Pages 65-74
Test Bodies and Signals in a Riemann Space–Time....Pages 75-87
Geodesic Deviation and Curvature Tensor....Pages 89-107
The Einstein Equations for the Gravitational Field....Pages 109-133
The Weak-Field Approximation....Pages 135-150
Gravitational Waves....Pages 151-176
The Schwarzschild Solution....Pages 177-197
The Kasner Solution....Pages 199-208
Vierbeins and Lorentz Connection....Pages 209-224
The Dirac Equation in a Gravitational Field....Pages 225-236
Supersymmetry and Supergravity....Pages 237-261
Back Matter....Pages 263-322
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