Undergraduate Course: Geometry of General Relativity (MATH11138)
Course Outline
| School | School of Mathematics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Einstein's theory of General Relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation. This course is a modern introduction to this cornerstone of mathematical physics, formulated in the language of differential geometry. |
| Course description |
- Basic notions of pseudo-Riemannian geometry (metric, connection,
curvature tensors, geodesics, isometries, Killing vector fields)
- Minkowski spacetime and special relativity
- Postulates of General Relativity (equivalence principles, general covariance)
- Einstein's equations and the energy-momentum tensor
- Schwarzschild solution
- Birkhoff's theorem
- Cosmological solutions
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
69 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
95 %,
Coursework
5 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 5%, Examination 95% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
- Perform local calculations in differential geometry: covariant derivatives, curvature and tensor calculations
- Explain the postulates of General Relativity
- Derive geodesic equations in a given spacetime and solve them in special cases
- Identify spacetime isometries and verify Killing's equation in simple examples
- Verify that simple spacetimes solve Einstein equations
|
Reading List
Recommended:
An Introduction to General Relativity, L.P Hughston and K.P. Tod (LMS, CUP, 1990)
General Relativity, R. M. Wald, University of Chicago Press (1984) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GGR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr James Lucietti
Tel: (0131 6)51 7179
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Alison Fairgrieve
Tel: (0131 6)50 5045
Email: |
|
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|
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