Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology

Aimed at advanced undergraduates, this self-contained textbook covers the key ideas of special and general relativity together with their applications. The textbook introduces students to basic geometric concepts, such as metrics, connections and curvature, before examining general relativity in more detail. It shows the observational evidence supporting the theory, and the description general relativity provides of black holes and cosmological space-times. The textbook is in full colour, with numerous worked examples and exercises with solutions. Key points and equations are highlighted for easy identification, and each chapter ends with a summary list of important concepts and results. This textbook provides the essential background for an up-to-date discussion of modern observational cosmology. Each chapter builds on the previous one as concepts are developed, making it ideal for self-study. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.

1. Special relativity and spacetime; 2. Special relativity and physical laws; 3. Geometry and curved spacetime; 4. General relativity; 5. The Schwarzschild solution and black holes; 6. Testing general relativity; 7. Cosmological solutions; 8. Our Universe; Index.

Aimed at advanced undergraduates, this self-contained textbook covers the key ideas of special and general relativity and their applications. In full colour, it contains numerous worked examples and exercises with solutions. Key points and equations are highlighted, and each chapter ends with a summary list of important concepts and results.

Robert Lambourne is Director of the Physics Innovation Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (piCETL) in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University. In 2002 he was awarded the Bragg medal and prize of the Institute of Physics for his contributions to physics education, and was made a National Teaching Fellow in 2006.