Phys 675 -
Introduction to Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology
University of Maryland, College Park
Fall 2014
Class
meetings: TuTh 2:00-3:15pm, in Toll Bldg. 1219 (possibly
venue to be moved)
Professor: Ted Jacobson,
jacobson_at_physics.umd.edu, Room 3151 PSC, 301-405-6020
Office hours: After class, by appointment, or drop by.
TA: Antony Speranza,
asperanz_at_gmail.com, Room 3260 PSC
Office hours: TBA
Textbook:
Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's
General Relativity, by James B. Hartle
Textbook
website, with supplements and errata
Track 2:
Students desiring a
more thorough introduction to the mathematical foundations of
general relativity are invited,
through self-study or with a group, to study for example the
first six chapters of General Relativity, by Robert M.
Wald.
Dr. J. will be happy to answer questions about this material.
Course web site:
http://www.physics.umd.edu/grt/taj/675e/. Course
plan, homework, notes, supplements, solutions and grades will all
be posted.
Piazza
course web forum: http://piazza.com/class#fall2014/phys675/0
: Please use piazza for questions on course material or homework.
An answer will usually be posted very quickly, often even at
surprising times.
E-mail:
I
will
use
e-mail
and
piazza to communicate with the class. Students are responsible for making sure I have their
correct
email address and checking their email daily. Important messages
will sometimes be sent to the class by email.
Homework
Policies:
+ Usually assigned weekly.
+ Please make sure you include your
name and the homework and course numbers, and staple the pages
together.
Late homework
accepted only under dire circumstances: if you know it will be
impossible to turn in an assignment
on time, you
must
discuss this with me in advance of the due date. Medical
reasons accepted only with a doctor's note.
+ Homework must be turned in to Dr.
Jacobson (not to the TA).
+ It would be detrimental to your learning process and unfair to
your classmates to make use of any solutions to the problems
found online or elsewhere. It is therefore strictly forbidden to
make use of such.
+ You are allowed and encouraged to ask Prof. Jacobson for
guidance, and to discuss homework with others, including at the
Piazza
web site (see above), but the work you turn in should be
your own formulation, and should reflect your own
understanding, and
you should be prepared to explain and defend it
on your own. See Academic Honesty section below for consequences
of violation.
Each student must turn in Homework 0 with a signature, showing
that homework policies have been read and understood.
Grading: The course grade is based on the homework. There
are no exams. The lowest two homework scores will be dropped. The
letter
grade
corresponding to the total numerical score will be determined after
reviewing the class performance as a whole.
Academic
Integrity: The University of Maryland, College Park
has a Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student
Honor Council.
As a student you are responsible for upholding the standards of
this Code for this course. It is very important for you to
be aware of the
consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and
plagiarism. For more information please visit
http://www.shc.umd.edu
and/or
www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/dishonesty.html.