|
Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Relativity physics
This book features a comprehensive review of experimental
gravitation. It is a textbook based on the graduate courses on
"Experimental Gravitation" given by the authors at their respective
universities in Rome: Sapienza and Tor Vergata. A number of
different research topics in the field are covered: from the
torsion pendulum (still today the tool of choice for measuring
small forces or torques) to the large interferometers developed to
observe gravitational waves. Techniques that are still under
development are also discussed, like the pulsar timing array and
space-based detectors of the future. This book is written by
experimentalists for experimentalists. While the background physics
is summarized for less experienced readers, the emphasis is
certainly on experimental verifications: the strategy, the
apparatuses, the data analysis and the results of many cornerstone
experiments are analyzed and discussed in depth. This textbook
serves as a useful resource for both graduate students and
professionals working in the increasingly vibrant field of
experimental gravity.
Explore spectacular advances in cosmology, relativistic
astrophysics, gravitational wave science, mathematics,
computational science, and the interface of gravitation and quantum
physics with this unique celebration of the centennial of
Einstein's discovery of general relativity. Twelve comprehensive
and in-depth reviews, written by a team of world-leading
international experts, together present an up-to-date overview of
key topics at the frontiers of these areas, with particular
emphasis on the significant developments of the last three decades.
Interconnections with other fields of research are also
highlighted, making this an invaluable resource for both new and
experienced researchers. Commissioned by the International Society
on General Relativity and Gravitation, and including accessible
introductions to cutting-edge topics, ample references to original
research papers, and informative colour figures, this is a
definitive reference for researchers and graduate students in
cosmology, relativity, and gravitational science.
This book presents a multidisciplinary guide to gauge theory and
gravity, with chapters by the world's leading theoretical
physicists, mathematicians, historians and philosophers of science.
The contributions from theoretical physics explore e.g. the
consistency of the unification of gravitation and quantum theory,
the underpinnings of experimental tests of gauge theory and its
role in shedding light on the relationship between mathematics and
physics. In turn, historians and philosophers of science assess the
impact of Weyl's view on the philosophy of science. Graduate
students, lecturers and researchers in the fields of history of
science, theoretical physics and philosophy of science will benefit
from this book by learning about the role played by Weyl's
Raum-Zeit-Materie in shaping several modern research fields, and by
gaining insights into the future prospects of gauge theory in both
theoretical and experimental physics. Furthermore, the book
facilitates interdisciplinary exchange and conceptual innovation in
tackling fundamental questions about our deepest theories of
physics. Chapter "Weyl's Raum-Zeit-Materie and the Philosophy of
Science" is available open access under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com
This thesis is devoted to the systematic study of non-local
theories that respect Lorentz invariance and are devoid of new,
unphysical degrees of freedom. Such theories are attractive for
phenomenological applications since they are mostly unconstrained
by current experiments. Non-locality has played an increasingly
important role in the physics of the last decades, appearing in
effective actions in quantum field theory, and arising naturally in
string theory and non-commutative geometry. It may even be a
necessary ingredient for quantum theories of gravity. It is a
feature of quantum entanglement, and may even solve the
long-standing black hole information loss problem. "Non-locality"
is a broad concept with many promising and fruitful applications in
theoretical and mathematical physics. After a historical and
pedagogical introduction into the concept of non-locality the
author develops the notion of non-local Green functions to study
various non-local weak-field problems in quantum mechanics, quantum
field theory, gravity, and quantum field theory in curved
spacetime. This thesis fills a gap in the literature by providing a
self-contained exploration of weak-field effects in non-local
theories, thereby establishing a "non-local intuition" which may
serve as a stepping stone for studies of the full, non-linear
problem of non-locality.
This book collates papers presented at two international
conferences (held at the Australian National University in 2018 and
Birkbeck College London in 2019) exploring the relationships
between big history and astrobiology and their wider implications
for society. These two relatively new academic disciplines aim to
integrate human history with the wider history of the universe and
the search for life elsewhere. The book will show that, despite
differences in emphasis, big history and astrobiology share much in
common, especially their interdisciplinary approaches and the
cosmic and evolutionary perspectives that they both engender.
Specifically, the book addresses the unified, all-embracing, nature
of knowledge, the impact of big history on humanity and the world
at large, the possible impact of SETI on astrobiology and big
history, the cultural signature of Earth's inhabitants beyond our
own planet, and the political implications of a planetary
worldview. The principal readership is envisaged to comprise
scholars working in the fields of astrobiology, big history and
space exploration interested in forging interdisciplinary links
between these diverse topics, together with educators, and a wider
public, interested in the societal implications of the cosmic and
evolutionary perspectives engendered by research in these fields.
This book delves into finite mathematics and its application in
physics, particularly quantum theory. It is shown that quantum
theory based on finite mathematics is more general than standard
quantum theory, whilst finite mathematics is itself more general
than standard mathematics.As a consequence, the mathematics
describing nature at the most fundamental level involves only a
finite number of numbers while the notions of limit,
infinite/infinitesimal and continuity are needed only in
calculations that describe nature approximately. It is also shown
that the concepts of particle and antiparticle are likewise
approximate notions, valid only in special situations, and that the
electric charge and baryon- and lepton quantum numbers can be only
approximately conserved.
The three neutrinos are ghostly elementary particles that exist all
across the Universe. Though every second billions of them fly
through us, they are extremely hard to detect. We used to think
they had no mass, but recently discovered that in fact they have a
tiny mass. The quest for the neutrino mass scale and mass ordering
(specifying how the three masses are distributed) is an extremely
exciting one, and will open the door towards new physics operating
at energy scales we can only ever dream of reaching on Earth. This
thesis explores the use of measurements of the Cosmic Microwave
Background (the oldest light reaching us, a snapshot of the infant
Universe) and maps of millions of galaxies to go after the neutrino
mass scale and mass ordering. Neutrinos might teach us something
about the mysterious dark energy powering the accelerated expansion
of the Universe, or about cosmic inflation, which seeded the
initial conditions for the Universe. Though extremely baffling,
neutrinos are also an exceptionally exciting area of research, and
cosmological observations promise to reveal a great deal about
these elusive particles in the coming years.
This volume offers an integrated understanding of how the theory of
general relativity gained momentum after Einstein had formulated it
in 1915. Chapters focus on the early reception of the theory in
physics and philosophy and on the systematic questions that emerged
shortly after Einstein's momentous discovery. They are written by
physicists, historians of science, and philosophers, and were
originally presented at the conference titled Thinking About Space
and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General
Relativity, held at the University of Bern from September 12-14,
2017. By establishing the historical context first, and then moving
into more philosophical chapters, this volume will provide readers
with a more complete understanding of early applications of general
relativity (e.g., to cosmology) and of related philosophical
issues. Because the chapters are often cross-disciplinary, they
cover a wide variety of topics related to the general theory of
relativity. These include: Heuristics used in the discovery of
general relativity Mach's Principle The structure of Einstein's
theory Cosmology and the Einstein world Stability of cosmological
models The metaphysical nature of spacetime The relationship
between spacetime and dynamics The Geodesic Principle Symmetries
Thinking About Space and Time will be a valuable resource for
historians of science and philosophers who seek a deeper knowledge
of the (early and later) uses of general relativity, as well as for
physicists and mathematicians interested in exploring the wider
historical and philosophical context of Einstein's theory.
This monograph presents the geoscientific context arising in
decorrelative gravitational exploration to determine the mass
density distribution inside the Earth. First, an insight into the
current state of research is given by reducing gravimetry to
mathematically accessible, and thus calculable, decorrelated
models. In this way, the various unresolved questions and problems
of gravimetry are made available to a broad scientific audience and
the exploration industry. New theoretical developments will be
given, and innovative ways of modeling geologic layers and faults
by mollifier regularization techniques are shown. This book is
dedicated to surface as well as volume geology with potential data
primarily of terrestrial origin. For deep geology, the
geomathematical decorrelation methods are to be designed in such a
way that depth information (e.g., in boreholes) may be canonically
entered. Bridging several different geo-disciplines, this book
leads in a cycle from the potential measurements made by
geoengineers, to the cleansing of data by geophysicists and
geoengineers, to the subsequent theory and model formation,
computer-based implementation, and numerical calculation and
simulations made by geomathematicians, to interpretation by
geologists, and, if necessary, back. It therefore spans the
spectrum from geoengineering, especially geodesy, via geophysics to
geomathematics and geology, and back. Using the German Saarland
area for methodological tests, important new fields of application
are opened, particularly for regions with mining-related cavities
or dense development in today's geo-exploration.
I first had a quick look, then I started reading it. I couldn't
stop. -Gerard 't Hooft (Nobel Prize, in Physics 1999) This is a
book about the mathematical nature of our Universe. Armed with no
more than basic high school mathematics, Dr. Joel L. Schiff takes
you on a foray through some of the most intriguing aspects of the
world around us. Along the way, you will visit the bizarre world of
subatomic particles, honey bees and ants, galaxies, black holes,
infinity, and more. Included are such goodies as measuring the
speed of light with your microwave oven, determining the size of
the Earth with a stick in the ground and the age of the Solar
System from meteorites, understanding how the Theory of Relativity
makes your everyday GPS system possible, and so much more. These
topics are easily accessible to anyone who has ever brushed up
against the Pythagorean Theorem and the symbol , with the lightest
dusting of algebra. Through this book, science-curious readers will
come to appreciate the patterns, seeming contradictions, and
extraordinary mathematical beauty of our Universe.
This book presents the proceedings of The International Workshop on
Frontiers in High Energy Physics (FHEP 2019), held in Hyderabad,
India. It highlights recent, exciting experimental findings from
LHC, KEK, LIGO and several other facilities, and discusses new
ideas for the unified treatment of cosmology and particle physics
and in the light of new observations, which could pave the way for
a better understanding of the universe we live in. As such, the
book provides a platform to foster collaboration in order to
provide insights into this important field of physics.
The extraordinary story of the scientific expeditions that ushered
in the era of relativity In 1919, British scientists led
expeditions to Brazil and Africa to test Albert Einstein's new
theory of general relativity in what became the century's most
celebrated scientific experiment. The result ushered in a new era
and made Einstein a celebrity by confirming his prediction that the
path of light rays would be bent by gravity. Yet the effort to
"weigh light" during the May 29, 1919, solar eclipse has become
clouded by myth and skepticism. Could Arthur Eddington and Frank
Dyson have gotten the results they claimed? Did the pacifist
Eddington falsify evidence to foster peace after a horrific war by
validating the theory of a German antiwar campaigner? In No Shadow
of a Doubt, Daniel Kennefick provides definitive answers by
offering the most comprehensive and authoritative account of how
expedition scientists overcame war, bad weather, and equipment
problems to make the experiment a triumphant success.
Ryan Wasserman explores a range of fascinating questions raised by
the possibility of time travel. This volume explores a wide-range
of puzzles such as the grandfather paradox, the bootstrapping
paradox, and the twin paradox of special relativity. Ryan Wasserman
draws out their implications for our understanding of time, tense,
freedom, fatalism, causation, counterfactuals, laws of nature,
persistence, change, and mereology. Paradoxes of Time Travel is
written in an accessible style, and filled with entertaining
examples from physics, science fiction, and popular culture.
|
|