Undergraduate Course: Geometry of General Relativity (MATH11138)
Course Outline
| School | School of Mathematics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Mathematics |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | 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. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
12/01/2015 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
98 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
95 %,
Coursework
5 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended 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 |
Assessment Information
| Coursework 5%, Examination 95% |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
- 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 |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| 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) |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GGR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr James Lucietti
Tel: (0131 6)51 7179
Email: J.Lucietti@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Alison Fairgrieve
Tel: (0131 6)50 5045
Email: Alison.Fairgrieve@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 29 August 2014 4:21 am
|
University Homepage