Relativity and cosmology I

PHYS-427 / 6 credits

Teacher: Kunz Martin Kurt

Language: English

Summary

Introduce the students to general relativity and its classical tests.

Content

The course will be given on Zoom, the exercises in person

  • The equivalence principle
  • Introduction to differential geometry
  • The Einstein equations and the Einstein-Hilbert action
  • Perturbation theory for weak gravitational fields
  • Gravitational waves
  • The Schwarzschild solution and classical tests of GR
  • Black holes

     

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

Analytical mechanics

Classical Electrodynamics

Important concepts to start the course

Special Relativity

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Explain the basic concepts of special and general relativity
  • Compute Christoffel symbols and curvatures from a given line element
  • Derive the Einstein equations in linear perturbation theory for weak gravitational fields.
  • Solve the Einstein equations in linear perturbation theory for weak gravitational fields.
  • Explain the basics of gravitational radiation (equation of motion, generation and observation).
  • Solve Einstein's field equations for static spherically symmetric problems
  • Explain the observational effects at the scale of the Solar System that cannot be described by Newtonian gravity
  • Explain the space-time associated to the Schwarzschild black hole.

Teaching methods

The course will be given on Zoom, the exercises in person

Assessment methods

Final written exam

Supervision

Office hours No
Assistants Yes
Forum Yes

Resources

Bibliography

    1. S. Carroll, "Spacetime and Geometry: an Introduction to General Relativity"
    2. B. Schutz, "A First Course in General Relativity"
    3. R. Wald, "General Relativity"
    4. N. Straumann, "General Relativity"
    5. M. Maggiore, "Gravitational waves, Volume 1: theory and experiments"
    6. S. Weinberg, "Gravitation and Cosmology"
    7. C. Mizner, K.S. Thorne, J.A. Wheeler, "Gravitation"
    8. L. Landau, Lifshitz, "The classical theory of fields"

      Ressources en bibliothèque

      Références suggérées par la bibliothèque

      Notes/Handbook

      Lectures notes will be provided in pdf format.

      Moodle Link

      In the programs

      • Semester: Fall
      • Exam form: Written (winter session)
      • Subject examined: Relativity and cosmology I
      • Courses: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Type: optional
      • Semester: Fall
      • Exam form: Written (winter session)
      • Subject examined: Relativity and cosmology I
      • Courses: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Type: optional
      • Semester: Fall
      • Exam form: Written (winter session)
      • Subject examined: Relativity and cosmology I
      • Courses: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Type: optional
      • Semester: Fall
      • Exam form: Written (winter session)
      • Subject examined: Relativity and cosmology I
      • Courses: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
      • Type: optional

      Reference week

      Thursday, 15h - 17h: Exercise, TP GCB330

      Friday, 13h - 16h: Lecture MED01418

      Related courses

      Results from graphsearch.epfl.ch.