Is relativity Jewish? The Nazis denigrated Albert Einstein's revolutionary theory by calling it "Jewish science," a charge typical of the ideological excesses of Hitler and his followers. Philosopher of science Steven Gimbel explores the many meanings of this provocative phrase and considers whether there is any sense in which Einstein's theory of relativity is Jewish. Arguing that we must take seriously the possibility that the Nazis were in some measure correct, Gimbel examines Einstein and his work to explore how beliefs, background, and environment may-or may not-have influenced the work of the scientist. You cannot understand Einstein's science, Gimbel declares, without knowing the history, religion, and philosophy that influenced it. No one, especially Einstein himself, denies Einstein's Jewish heritage, but many are uncomfortable saying that he was being a Jew while he was at his desk working. To understand what "Jewish" means for Einstein's work, Gimbel first explores the many definitions of "Jewish" and asks whether there are elements of Talmudic thinking apparent in Einstein's theory of relativity. He applies this line of inquiry to other scientists, including Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Sigmund Freud, and Emile Durkheim, to consider whether their specific religious beliefs or backgrounds manifested in their scientific endeavors. Einstein's Jewish Science intertwines science, history, philosophy, theology, and politics in fresh and fascinating ways to solve the multifaceted riddle of what religion means-and what it means to science. There are some senses, Gimbel claims, in which Jews can find a special connection to E = mc2, and this claim leads to the engaging, spirited debate at the heart of this book.

These two volumes are the proceedings of a major International Symposium on General Relativity held at the University of Maryland 27 to 29 March 1993 to celebrate the sixtieth birthdays of Professor Charles Misner and Professor Dieter Brill. The volumes cover classical general relativity, quantum gravity and quantum cosmology, canonical formulation and the initial value problem, topology and geometry of spacetime and fields, mathematical and physical cosmology, and Black Hole physics and astrophysics. As invited articles, the papers in these volumes have an aim which goes beyond that of a standard conference proceedings. Not only do the authors discuss the most recent research results in their fields, but many also provide historical perspectives on how their subjects developed and offer individual insights in their search for new directions.

This volume contains the proceedings of the twelfth triannual International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, the premier conference for presentation and discussion of new ideas in relativity and cosmology. The volume will contain the invited talks as well as short reports on the parallel workshops that took place at the meeting. It will be essential reading for all research workers in relativity, cosmology and astrophysics.

The past forty years have been a time of spectacular development in the study of general relativity and cosmology. A special role in this has been played by the influential research groups led by Dennis Sciama in Cambridge, Oxford, and Trieste. In April 1992 many of his ex-students and collaborators came to Trieste (where he is currently Professor) for a review meeting to celebrate his 65th birthday. This book consists of written versions of the talks presented which, taken together, comprise an authoritative overview of developments which have taken place during his career to date. The topics covered include fundamental questions in general relativity and cosmology, black holes, active galactic nuclei, galactic structure, dark matter, and large scale structure.

With the aid of entertaining short stories, anecdotes, lucid explanations and straight-forward figures, this book challenges the perception that the world of physics is inaccessible to the non-expert. Beginning with Neanderthal man, it traces the evolution of human reason and understanding from paradoxes and optical illusions to gravitational waves, black holes and dark energy. On the way, it provides insights into the mind-boggling advances at the frontiers of physics and cosmology. Unsolved problems and contradictions are highlighted, and contentious issues in modern physics are discussed in a non-dogmatic way in a language comprehensible to the non-scientist. It has something for everyone.

This volume includes contributions by leading workers in the field given at the workshop on Numerical Relativity held in Southampton in December 1991. Numerical Relativity, or the numerical solution of astrophysical problems using powerful computers to solve Einstein's equations, has grown rapidly over the last 15 years. It is now an important route to understanding the structure of the Universe, and is the only route currently available for approaching certain important astrophysical scenarios. The Southampton meeting was notable for the first full report of the new 2+2 approach and the related null or characteristic approaches, as well as for updates on the established 3+1 approach, including both Newtonian and fully relativistic codes. The contributions range from theoretical (formalisms, existence theorems) to the computational (moving grids, multiquadrics and spectral methods).

The wealth of recent cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure data has transformed the field of cosmology. These observations have not only become precise enough to answer questions about the universe on the largest scales, but also to address puzzles in the microscopic description of Nature. This thesis investigates new ways of probing the early universe, the properties of neutrinos and the possible existence of other light particles. In particular, based on detailed theoretical insights and novel analyses, new evidence for the cosmic neutrino background is found in the distribution of galaxies and in cosmic microwave background data. This tests the Standard Model of particle physics and the universe back to a time when it was about one second old. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that future observations will be capable of probing physics beyond the Standard Model since they can achieve a particular target which would either allow the detection of any light particles that have ever been in thermal equilibrium or imply strong bounds on their properties.

In this book, all physical laws are derived from a small number of invariant integrals which express the conservation of energy, mass, or momentum. This new approach allows us to unify the laws of theoretical physics, to simplify their derivation, and to discover some novel or more universal laws. Newton's Law of gravity is generalized to take into account cosmic forces of repulsion, Archimedes' principle of buoyancy is modified for account of the surface tension, and Coulomb's Laws for rolling friction and for the interaction of electric charges are substantially repaired and generalized. For postgraduate students, lecturers and researchers.

This book presents the first English translation of the original French treatise "La Physique d'Einstein" written by the young Georges Lemai tre in 1922, only six years after the publication of Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity. It includes an historical introduction and a critical edition of the original treatise in French supplemented by the author's own later additions and corrections. Monsignor Georges Lemai tre can be considered the founder of the "Big Bang Theory" and a visionary architect of modern Cosmology. The scientific community is only beginning to grasp the full extent of the legacy of this towering figure of 20th century physics. Against the best advice of the greatest names of his time, the young Lemai tre was convinced, solely through the study of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, that space and time must have had a beginning with a tremendous "Big Bang" from a "quantum primeval atom" resulting in an ever-expanding Universe with a positive cosmological constant. But how did the young Lemai tre, essentially on his own, come to grips with the physics of Einstein? A year before his ordination as a diocesan priest, he submitted the audacious treatise, published in this book, that was to earn him Fellowships to study at Cambridge, MIT and Harvard, and launched him on a scientific path of ground-breaking discoveries. Almost a century after Lemai tre's seminal publications of 1927 and 1931, this highly pedagogical treatise is still of timely interest to young minds and remains of great value from a history of science perspective.

The natural generalization of the quantum-mechanical N-particle wave function to relativistic space-time is a function of N space-time points, and thus of N time variables. This book, based on a collection of lectures given at a spring school in Tubingen in 2019, provides an accessible and concise introduction to the recent development of the theory of multi-time wave functions, their use in quantum field theory, their relation to detection probabilities, and the mathematical question of consistency of their time evolution equations. The book is intended for advanced students and researchers with an interest in relativity and quantum physics.

A quirky, funny, and accessible blend of science and art that delves into the heart of Einstein’s theory of relativity

It was a link to Albert Einstein’s 1905 paper―an early attempt at explaining his revolutionary ideas on space, time, and matter―that drew Tanya Bub into his imaginative vision of the world. What particularly struck her was how Einstein interwove words and math to create clear visuals illustrating his theories. As an artist, she naturally started doodling as she worked her way through his concepts, creating drawings that intuitively demonstrated Einstein’s core principles.

In Reimagining Time, Tanya Bub teams up with her father, the distinguished physicist Jeffrey Bub, to create a quirky and accessible take on one of science’s most revolutionary discoveries. Blending original art and text, they guide readers―even nonmathematicians―through Einstein’s theory of special relativity to reveal truths about our universe: time is relative, lengths get shorter with motion, energy and mass are interchangeable, and the universe has a speed limit.

This 2004 textbook fills a gap in the literature on general relativity by providing the advanced student with practical tools for the computation of many physically interesting quantities. The context is provided by the mathematical theory of black holes, one of the most elegant, successful, and relevant applications of general relativity. Among the topics discussed are congruencies of timelike and null geodesics, the embedding of spacelike, timelike and null hypersurfaces in spacetime, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity. Although the book is self-contained, it is not meant to serve as an introduction to general relativity. Instead, it is meant to help the reader acquire advanced skills and become a competent researcher in relativity and gravitational physics. The primary readership consists of graduate students in gravitational physics. It will also be a useful reference for more seasoned researchers working in this field.

This book is about the dark photon which is a new gauge boson whose existence has been conjectured. Due to its interaction with the ordinary, visible photon, such a particle can be experimentally detected via specific signatures. In this book, the authors review the physics of the dark photon from the theoretical and experimental point of view. They discuss the difference between the massive and the massless case, highlighting how the two phenomena arise from the same vector portal between the dark and the visible sector. A review of the cosmological and astrophysical observations is provided, together with the connection to dark matter physics. Then, a perspective on current and future experimental limits on the parameters of the massless and massive dark photon is given, as well as the related bounds on milli-charged fermions. The book is intended for graduate students and young researchers who are embarking on dark photon research, and offers them a clear and up-to-date introduction to the subject.

This book provides a thorough introduction to Einstein's special theory of relativity, suitable for anyone with a minimum of one year's university physics with calculus. It is divided into fundamental and advanced topics. The first section starts by recalling the Pythagorean rule and its relation to the geometry of space, then covers every aspect of special relativity, including the history. The second section covers the impact of relativity in quantum theory, with an introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. It also goes over the group theory of the Lorentz group, a simple introduction to supersymmetry, and ends with cutting-edge topics such as general relativity, the standard model of elementary particles and its extensions, superstring theory, and a survey of important unsolved problems. Each chapter comes with a set of exercises. The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM illustrating, through interactive animation, classic problems in relativity involving motion.

This book contains a systematic exposition of the theory of spinors in finite-dimensional Euclidean and Riemannian spaces. The applications of spinors in field theory and relativistic mechanics of continuous media are considered. The main mathematical part is connected with the study of invariant algebraic and geometric relations between spinors and tensors. The theory of spinors and the methods of the tensor representation of spinors and spinor equations are thoroughly expounded in four-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces. Very useful and important relations are derived that express the derivatives of the spinor fields in terms of the derivatives of various tensor fields. The problems associated with an invariant description of spinors as objects that do not depend on the choice of a coordinate system are addressed in detail. As an application, the author considers an invariant tensor formulation of certain classes of differential spinor equations containing, in particular, the most important spinor equations of field theory and quantum mechanics. Exact solutions of the Einstein-Dirac equations, nonlinear Heisenberg's spinor equations, and equations for relativistic spin fluids are given. The book presents a large body of factual material and is suited for use as a handbook. It is intended for specialists in theoretical physics, as well as for students and post-graduate students of physical and mathematical specialties.

This unique textbook offers a mathematically rigorous presentation of the theory of relativity, emphasizing the need for a critical analysis of the foundations of general relativity in order to best study the theory and its implications. The transitions from classical mechanics to special relativity and then to general relativity are explored in detail as well, helping readers to gain a more profound and nuanced understanding of the theory as a whole. After reviewing the fundamentals of differential geometry and classical mechanics, the text introduces special relativity, first using the physical approach proposed by Einstein and then via Minkowski's mathematical model. The authors then address the relativistic thermodynamics of continua and electromagnetic fields in matter - topics which are normally covered only very briefly in other treatments - in the next two chapters. The text then turns to a discussion of general relativity by means of the authors' unique critical approach, underlining the difficulty of recognizing the physical meaning of some statements, such as the physical meaning of coordinates and the derivation of physical quantities from those of space-time. Chapters in this section cover the model of space-time proposed by Schwarzschild; black holes; the Friedman equations and the different cosmological models they describe; and the Fermi-Walker derivative. Well-suited for graduate students in physics and mathematics who have a strong foundation in real analysis, classical mechanics, and general physics, this textbook is appropriate for a variety of graduate-level courses that cover topics in relativity. Additionally, it will interest physicists and other researchers who wish to further study the subtleties of these theories and understand the contemporary scholarly discussions surrounding them.

This textbook offers a readily comprehensible introduction to classical Newtonian gravitation, which is fundamental for an understanding of classical mechanics and is particularly relevant to Astrophysics. The opening chapter recalls essential elements of vectorial calculus, especially to provide the formalism used in subsequent chapters. In chapter two Classical Newtonian gravity theory for one point mass and for a generic number N of point masses is then presented and discussed. The theory for point masses is naturally extended to the continuous case. The third chapter addresses the paradigmatic case of spherical symmetry in the mass density distribution (central force), with introduction of the useful tool of qualitative treatment of motion. Subsequent chapters discuss the general case of non-symmetric mass density distribution and develop classical potential theory, with elements of harmonic theory, which is essential to understand the potential development in series of the gravitational potential, the subject of the fourth chapter. Finally, in the last chapter the specific case of motion of a satellite around the earth is considered. Examples and exercises are presented throughout the book to clarify aspects of the theory. The book is aimed at those who wish to progress further beyond an initial bachelor degree, onward to a master degree, and a PhD. It is also a valuable resource for postgraduates and active researchers in the field.

Thoroughly revised and updated, this textbook provides a pedagogical introduction to relativity. It is self-contained, but the reader is expected to have a basic knowledge of theoretical mechanics and electrodynamics. It covers the most important features of both special and general relativity, as well as touching on more difficult topics, such as the field of charged pole-dipole particles, the Petrov classification, groups of motions, gravitational lenses, exact solutions and the structure of infinity. The necessary mathematical tools (tensor calculus, Riemannian geometry) are provided, most of the derivations are given in full, and exercises are included where appropriate. Written as a textbook for undergraduate and introductory graduate courses, it will also be of use to researchers working in the field. The bibliography gives the original papers and directs the reader to useful monographs and review papers.

This timely volume provides a broad survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity. It emphasises the 'quantum cosmology' of closed universes and the quantum mechanics of the (2+1)-dimensional black hole. It compares and contrasts a variety of approaches, and examines what they imply for a realistic theory of quantum gravity. General relativity in three spacetime dimensions has become a popular arena in which to explore the ramifications of quantum gravity. As a diffeomorphism-invariant theory of spacetime structure, this model shares many of the conceptual problems of realistic quantum gravity. But it is also simple enough that many programs of quantization can be carried out explicitly. After analysing the space of classical solutions, this book introduces some fifteen approaches to quantum gravity - from canonical quantization in York's 'extrinsic time' to Chern-Simons quantization, from the loop representation to covariant path integration to lattice methods. Relationships among quantizations are explored, as well as implications for such issues as topology change and the 'problem of time'. This book is an invaluable resource for all graduate students and researchers working in quantum gravity.

This book provides an accessible introduction to astronomy and general relativity, aiming to explain the Universe, not just to describe it. Written by an expert in relativity who is known for his clearly-written advanced textbooks, the treatment uses only high-school level mathematics, supplemented by optional computer programs, to explain the laws of physics governing gravity from Galileo and Newton to Einstein.

Astrophysical observations implying the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which are not described by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, have led to extensions of the SM predicting new particles that could be directly produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Based on 2015 and 2016 ATLAS proton-proton collision data, this thesis presents searches for the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, for Dark Matter, and for DarkEnergy, in signatures with jets and missing transverse energy. Muon detection is key to some of the most important LHC physics results, including the discovery of the Higgs boson and the measurement of its properties. The efficiency with which muons can be detected with the ATLAS detector is measured using Z boson decays. The performance of high-precision Monitored Drift Tube muon chambers under background rates similar to the ones expected for the High Luminosity-LHC is studied.

This book provides a pedagogical introduction to the rapidly growing field of reheating after inflation. It begins with a brief review of the inflationary paradigm and a motivation for why the reheating of the universe is an integral part of inflationary cosmology. It then goes on to survey different aspects of reheating in a chronological manner, starting from the young, empty and cold universe at the end of inflation, and going all the way to the hot and thermal universe at the beginning of the Big Bang nucleosynthesis epoch. Different particle production mechanisms are considered with a focus on the non-perturbative excitation of scalar fields at the beginning of reheating (fermionic and vector fields are also discussed). This is followed by a review of the subsequent non-linear dynamical processes, such as soliton formation and relativistic turbulence. Various thermalization processes are also discussed. High energy physics embeddings of phenomenological models as well as observational implications of reheating such as gravitational waves generation and imprints on the cosmic microwave background are also covered.

This book discusses in detail the special theory of relativity without including all the instruments of theoretical physics, enabling readers who are not budding theoretical physicists to develop competence in the field. An arbitrary but fixed inertial system is chosen, where the known velocity of light is measured. With respect to this system a moving clock loses time and a moving length contracts. The book then presents a definition of simultaneity for the other inertial frames without using the velocity of light. To do so it employs the known reciprocity principle, which in this context serves to provide a definition of simultaneity in the other inertial frames. As a consequence, the Lorentz transformation is deduced and the universal constancy of light is established. With the help of a lattice model of the special theory of relativity the book provides a deeper understanding of the relativistic effects. Further, it discusses the key STR experiments and formulates and solves 54 problems in detail.

Devised at the beginning of the 20th century by french physicists Charles Fabry and Alfred Perot, the Fabry-Perot optical cavity is perhaps the most deceptively simple setup in optics, and today a key resource in many areas of science and technology. This thesis delves deeply into the applications of optical cavities in a variety of contexts: from LIGO's 4-km-long interferometer arms that are allowing us to observe the universe in a new way by measuring gravitational waves, to the atomic clocks used to realise time with unprecedented accuracy which will soon lead to a redefinition of the second, and the matterwave interferometers that are enabling us to test and measure gravity in a new scale. The work presented accounts for the elegance and versatility of this setup, which today underpins much of the progress in the frontier of atomic and gravitational experimental physics.

Despite the success of general relativity in explaining classical gravitational phenomena, several problems at the interface between gravitation and high energy physics still remain open. The purpose of this thesis is to explore quantum gravity and its phenomenological consequences for dark matter, gravitational waves and inflation. A new formalism to classify gravitational theories based on their degrees of freedom is introduced and, in light of this classification, it is argued that dark matter is no different from modified gravity. Gravitational waves are shown to be damped due to quantum degrees of freedom. The consequences for gravitational wave events are also discussed. The non-minimal coupling of the Higgs boson to gravity is studied in connection with Starobinsky inflation and its implications for the vacuum instability problem is analyzed.