INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL RELATIVITY

This book is unique in that, while employing the language of differential geometry, it systematically introduces all the essential concepts of both gravitational physics and differential geometry itself. In sprit, it is similar to celebrated texts such as Gravitation by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler and Carroll's Spacetime and Geometry, in that it prioritizes physical intuition over rigorous formalism.

Readers will find a comprehensive treatment of relativity, spanning from special to general relativity, with coverage of:

The book also integrates modern developments, such as late-20th-century experimental tests, the effective field theory approach to general relativity, and modified theories of gravity.

Suitable both as a textbook and a self-study reference, this work provides an accessible yet thorough journey into the geometric nature of gravity.

Contents:

• Preface
• Special Relativity
• Tensor Calculus in Special Relativity
• Gravity and Geometry
• Foundations of Curved Spacetime — Manifolds
• Connections and Geodesics
• Curvature
• Einstein's Equations
• Spherically Symmetric Vacuum Solution
• Schwarzschild Black Hole
• Kerr Black Hole
• Gravitational Waves
• Bibliography
• Index

Readership: Advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of gravity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology.