physics 675:
introduction to relativity,
gravitation and
cosmology
fall 2008 schedule
- instructor: alessandra buonanno
- class room: phy 0405
- lecture days: tuesday & thursday 2:00pm -
3:15pm
- first day of class: september 2
- last day of class: december 11
contact info
- office room: phy 4212
- e-mail: buonanno@umd.edu
- phone: (301) 405 1440
- office hours: after class or by appointment
grader
- grader: sergey kurennoy
- office room: phy 4210
- e-mail: kurennoy@umd.edu
- phone: (301) 405 6190
- office hours: wednesday 1:00pm - 2:00pm
textbooks
the required textbook is "gravity: an introduction to einstein's
general relativity" by james hartle.
(web supplements can be find here.)
recommended textbooks are "spacetime and geometry: an introduction to
general relativity" by sean carroll,
and "general relativity" by hobson, efstathiou and lasenby.
prerequisite
phys601 and phys606, but undergraduate lagrangian mechanics (phys
410)
and electrodynamics (phys 411) should suffice.
homeworks
homeworks will be assigned once per week and posted on the course
webpage.
solutions will be posted on the course webpage.
the exercises are from hartle's book, except the S problems which were
conceived
and assigned by professor ted jacobson for phys 675 in previous years.
homework rules
- late homeworks are accepted only under serious circumstances
(to be discussed before due day)
- you are encouraged to discuss homeworks with other students,
however the work you turn in should be your own formulation and
reflection
- use of previous solutions is not allowed
(violation of this rule is cause for failure of the course)
- homework sets must show reasoning leading to the final
answers in a clear and readable fashion to obtain credit
- please, include your name and staple the pages together
exam
none.
grading
the course grade will be based on the homeworks.
academic integrity
the university has approved a code of academic integrity available
on
the web.
the code prohibits students from cheating on exams, plagiarizing
papers, submitting
the same paper for credit in two courses without authorization, buying
papers, submitting
fraudulent documents, and forging signatures. the university
senate requires that students
include the following signed statement on each examination or
assignment: “i pledge on my
honor that i have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on
this examination
(or assignment).” compliance with the code is administered by a
student honor council,
which strives to promote a “community of trust” on the college park
campus. allegations
of academic dishonesty can be reported directly to the honor council
(314-9154) by any
member of the campus community.
course description
The following topics will be covered during the course (tentative)
- review of special relativity
- equivalence principle
- curved spacetime
- mathematical structure of general relativity
- solar system tests of general relativity
- gravitational collapse and black holes
- rotating black holes
- cosmology
- gravitational waves
references of lectures
1-2-3-4:
- read chapters 2,3,4,5 of hartle's book
- living
review by cliff will (read sec. 2.1.1)
- observational
evidence of the GZK suppression: Auger and HiRes
- "subtle is the lord: the science and the
life of albert
einstein" by abraham pais
references of lectures 5-6:
references of lectures 7-8:
- read chapters 8,9 of hartle's book
references of lectures 9-10:
- read chapters 9,10 of hartle's book
references of lectures 11-12:
- read chapters 10,12 of hartle's book
references of lectures 13-14:
- read chapters 14,15 of hartle's book
references of lectures 15-16:
references
of lectures 17-18:
- read chapters 15, 17 of hartle's book
references
of lectures 19-20:
- read chapter 18 of hartle's book
- The Cosmic Triangle paper
references
of lectures 21-22-23:
- read chapter 19 of hartle's book
- Lectures on Cosmology paper
- Information on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe here
- Web site with information about the Cosmic Microwave
Background Radiation here
references
of lectures 24-25:
- read chapter 20 of hartle's book
- read chapters 3 and 4 of hobson et al.'s book
references
of lectures 26-27:
- read chapters 21 and 22 of hartle's book
- read chapters 7 and 8 of hobson et al.'s book
references
of lectures 28-29:
homeworks
on lectures 1-2-3:
(assigned on Sep 4, due on Sep 11)
homeworks
on lectures 4-5-6:
(assigned on Sep 16, due on Sep 23)
homeworks
on lectures 7-8:
(assigned on Sep 25, due on Oct 2)
homeworks
on lectures 9-10:
(assigned on Oct 7, due on Oct 14)
homeworks
on lectures 11-12-13:
(assigned on Oct 16, due on Oct 23)
homeworks
on lectures 14-15-17:
(assigned on Oct 28, due on Nov 6)
homeworks
on lectures 18-19-20:
(assigned on Nov 6, due on Nov 18)
- problems 17-5, 18-3, 18-11, 18-14, 18-16 from hartle's book
homeworks
on lectures 21-22-23-24:
(assigned on Nov 18, due on Nov 25)
- problems 19-6, 19-8, 19-9 from hartle's book
- problem 8S
homeworks
on lectures 25-26:
(assigned on Dec 2, due on Dec 5)
homeworks
on lectures 27-28:
(assigned on Dec 5, due on Dec 11)
questions and comments may be sent to
buonanno@umd.edu
last modified on 11/7/2008
