NUST - PG Courses

MATH-916 General Relativity

Campus	SNS
Programs	PG
Session	Fall Semester 2016
Course Title	General Relativity
Course Code	MATH-916
Credit Hours	3-0
Pre-Requisutes
Course Objectives	In 1905 Einstein formulated the special theory of relativity, which caused a major shift in the world-view. This theory was reformulated geometrically by Minkowski. That re-formulation led to a total change in the development of science. Before it, science was led by experimental developments that were incompatible with theory. After it, internal consistency and aesthetic considerations drove the development of science and experiments were designed to test the new theories. This has led to unprecedented developments in experiment and hence technology. In this course the first such theory, the general theory of relativity is discussed and the predictions it made explained. The current status of the theory is also discussed. The approach taken is largely historical and philosophic and the methods used are mainly of differential geometry. Classical Mechanics and Field Theory, as needed for the theory will be explained in the course.
Detail Content	This course will review the development of mechanics in general and special relativity in particular. It will go on to introduce the methods of field theory and then use geometry and the principles of equivalence and covariance to develop general relativity. The course will include a detailed discussion of black holes and of gravitational waves and will include an introduction to the use of spacetime symmetries in the study of relativity.
Text/Ref Books	Main Textbook: Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity Author: Asghar Qadir Publisher: To be submitted for publication Textbooks: Relativity: An Introduction to the Special Theory Author: Asghar Qadir Publisher: World Scientific 1989 Textbooks: Gravitation Author: C.W. Misner, K.S. Thorne and J.A. Wheeler Publisher: W. H. Freeman and Co. 1973
Time Schedule	Fall Semester 2014
Faculty/Resource Person	Dr. Mubashir Jamil PhD, SNS, NUST, Pakistan Discipline: General Relativity