Gravity

James B. Hartle is Professor of Physics at the University of California–Santa Barbara. His scientific work is concerned with the application of Einstein's relativistic theory of gravitation (general relativity) to realistic astrophysical situations, especially cosmology. He has made important contributions to the understanding of gravitational waves, relativistic stars, and black holes. Professor Hartle is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Philosophical Society. He is a founder and past director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara. He was awarded the 2009 Einstein Prize of the American Physical Society for his work on gravitational physics.

List of Boxes; Preface; Figure credits; Part I. Space and Time in Newtonian Physics and Special Relativity: 1. Gravitational physics; 2. Geometry as physics; 3. Space, time, and gravity in Newtonian physics; 4. Principles of special relativity; 5. Special relativistic mechanics. Part II. The Curved Spacetimes of General Relativity: 6. Gravity as geometry; 7. Description of curved spacetime; 8. Geodesics; 9. The geometry outside a spherical star; 10. Solar System tests of general relativity; 11. Relativistic gravity in action; 12. Gravitational collapse and black holes; 13. Astrophysical black holes; 14. A little rotation; 15. Rotating black holes; 16. Gravitational waves; 17. The universe observed; 18. Cosmological models; 19. Which universe and why?. Part III. The Einstein Equation: 20. A little more math; 21. Curvature and the Einstein equation; 22. The source of curvature; 23. Gravitational wave emission; 24. Relativistic stars; Appendix A. Units; Appendix B. Curvature quantities; Appendix C. Curvature and the Einstein equation; Appendix D. Pedagogical strategy; Bibliography; Index.