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171 results in Cosmology, Relativity and Gravitation

Page 1 of 9

A Student's Manual for A First Course in General Relativity, Third Edition
  • 2nd edition
  • Robert B. Scott
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    August 2026
    Print publication:
    31 August 2026
  • This comprehensive and up-to-date manual accompanies the third edition of Bernard Schutz's A First Course in General Relativity. It offers step-by-step guidance through more than 200 selected exercises, providing detailed solutions and explanatory comments which are cross-referenced to the relevant equations and sections in Schutz's text. The material is further extended by the inclusion of 168 supplementary problems that highlight conceptual challenges and direct readers to the most useful supporting literature. A comprehensive index with bolded keywords allows for quick navigation, while an appendix of useful results makes the book a lasting reference for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, instructors, and self-directed learners seeking a deeper understanding of the subject. A Mathematica notebook and tables of exercises and supplementary problems are freely available as online resources, with instructors benefiting from access to solutions to selected exercises and problems.

Mapping the Primordial Universe
  • Theory and Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background
  • Martin Bucher
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    July 2026
    Print publication:
    31 July 2026
  • Recent observations of the afterglow of the Big Bang, commonly referred to as the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, have greatly advanced our understanding of the early Universe and have helped reinforce the observational foundations of modern cosmology. This volume provides a comprehensive pedagogical overview of all aspects of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Topics covered include theory, current observations, instrumentation, statistical analyses and the astrophysics of Galactic and other microwave foregrounds. These latter topics are important as much of the contemporary work in cosmology focuses on perfecting experimental techniques and on mitigating and assessing sources of error. Bringing together the latest research and scientific developments from the primary literature into one book, this is a go-to resource for graduate students and researchers working in cosmology and astrophysics.

Gravitation for Theorists
  • Piljin Yi
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    March 2026
    Print publication:
    31 March 2026
  • Intended for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, this textbook is a thoroughly modern introduction to and a self-contained treatise on the theoretical and mathematical fundamentals of General Relativity. The chapters are organized into three parts, with the first covering Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism, the relativistic Kepler problem, and the systematics of the underlying geometry, with the more abstract notion of the fibre bundle relegated to the Appendix. The second part begins with a derivation of the Einstein equations and leads to topics such as cosmology, black holes, causal structures, and action principles. The third part covers the canonical formulation of field theory in general and General Relativity in particular, leading to the concept of the total energy in General Relativity and quantum phenomena with event horizons. The book minimizes historical references, focuses on modern tools, examples, and applications, and emphasizes the commonalities between relativistic gravity and gauge theory.

Quantum Cosmology
  • An Introduction
  • Jean-Luc Lehners
  • Published online:
    02 February 2026
    Print publication:
    19 February 2026
  • 'Quantum Cosmology' offers a guided introduction to the quantum aspects of the cosmos. Starting with an overview of early universe cosmology, the book builds up to advanced topics such as the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, gravitational path integrals, and the no-boundary proposal for the wave function of the universe. Readers will explore tunneling processes via Coleman–DeLuccia instantons, the quantum origin of primordial fluctuations, the thermodynamics of horizons, and basic notions of string cosmology. Concepts such as wormholes and semi-classical geometry are introduced with clarity and physical motivation. The book assumes some familiarity with general relativity and quantum mechanics, but little prior knowledge of cosmology. It includes a wide range of exercises, with solutions provided. Written in a pedagogical style, it bridges the gap between undergraduate courses and the research level in this frontier area of theoretical physics.

The First Chapters of Our Cosmic History with JWST (IAU S391)
  • Edited by Themiya Nanayakkara, Michael Maseda
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    January 2026
    Print publication:
    19 February 2026
  • IAU Symposium 391 showcases cutting-edge research inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope, as presented during the first IAU General Assembly on African soil. This volume captures the pioneering science of galaxy formation, cosmic reionization, stellar evolution, and early universe dynamics, with contributions addressing topics such as metallicity in primordial galaxies, early Lyman-α emitters, and massive quiescent galaxies at high redshifts. Innovative approaches such as nebular emulators and advanced simulations offer fresh insights into clumpy galaxy formation, thin and thick disk structures, and stellar feedback mechanisms. Special focus is given to unexpected findings, such as unusual chemical abundances and insights from the synergy between JWST and complementary observatories like ALMA. These proceedings highlight the latest breakthroughs in astronomy and the collaborative efforts of scientists worldwide to uncover the secrets of our cosmic origins.

Quasar Absorption Lines
  • Volume 2, Astrophysics, Analysis, and Modeling
  • Christopher W. Churchill
  • Published online:
    17 December 2025
    Print publication:
    18 December 2025
  • 'Quasar Absorption Lines' is a comprehensive, detailed exposition on the science and analysis of quasar spectra in two volumes, for both aspiring and seasoned astronomers. This Volume 2: 'Astrophysics, Analysis, and Modeling' describes atomic transitions of hydrogenic and multi-electron ions, the theoretical foundation and practical application of the ΛCDM cosmological model, and radiative transfer from cosmological sources. The theory of spectrographs and the mathematical formalism and quantitative analysis of spectral absorption lines and ionization breaks are treated in detail, including column density measurements, line deblending, and Voigt profile fitting. The philosophies, methods, and techniques of large absorption line surveys are presented, including methods for correcting incompleteness and for measuring accurate absorber population statistics. Gas physics, heating/cooling, and ionization are also covered, followed by detailed methods for undertaking multi-component, multiphase chemical-ionization modeling.

Quasar Absorption Lines
  • Volume 1, Introduction, Discoveries, and Methods
  • Christopher W. Churchill
  • Published online:
    10 December 2025
    Print publication:
    18 December 2025
  • 'Quasar Absorption Lines' is a comprehensive, detailed exposition on the science and analysis of quasar spectra in two volumes, for both aspiring and seasoned astronomers. This Volume 1: 'Introduction, Discoveries, and Methods' covers the evolution of the field of quasar spectroscopy over the six decades since quasars were discovered, including the development and application of observational methods and the knowledge gained from them. The broad treatment includes studies of the Ly α forest, Lyman limit systems, damped Ly α absorbers, deuterium (D/H), 21-cm absorbers, HI and HeII reionization, the warm/hot intergalactic medium, and the multiple ionization phases of metal lines. The connections between these absorbers and galaxies (the circumgalactic medium), galaxy groups (the intragroup medium), and clusters of galaxies (the intracluster medium) are treated in depth. Also covered are the taxonomy and classifications of AGN/quasar spectra, black hole accretion, broad and narrow associated absorption lines, and the quasar circumgalactic medium.

General Relativity
  • A Graduate Course
  • Horatiu Nastase
  • Published online:
    24 April 2025
    Print publication:
    08 May 2025
  • This text on general relativity and its modern applications is suitable for an intensive one-semester course on general relativity, at the level of a Ph.D. student in physics. Assuming knowledge of classical mechanics and electromagnetism at an advanced undergraduate level, basic concepts are introduced quickly, with greater emphasis on their applications. Standard topics are covered, such as the Schwarzschild solution, classical tests of general relativity, gravitational waves, ADM parametrization, relativistic stars and cosmology, as well as more advanced standard topics like vielbein-spin connection formulation, trapped surfaces, the Raychaudhuri equation, energy conditions, the Petrov and Bianchi classifications and gravitational instantons. More modern topics, including black hole thermodynamics, gravitational entropy, effective field theory for gravity, the PPN expansion, the double copy and fluid-gravity correspondence, are also introduced using the language understood by physicists, without too abstract mathematics, proven theorems, or the language of pure mathematics.

General Post-Newtonian Orbital Effects
  • From Earth's Satellites to the Galactic Centre
  • Lorenzo Iorio
  • Published online:
    28 November 2024
    Print publication:
    05 December 2024
  • Orbital motions have always been used to test gravitational theories which, from time to time, have challenged the then-dominant paradigms. This book provides a unified treatment for calculating a wide variety of orbital effects due to general relativity and modified models of gravity, to its first and second post-Newtonian orders, in full generality. It gives explicit results valid for arbitrary orbital configurations and spin axes of the sources, without a priori simplifying assumptions on either the orbital eccentricity or inclination. These general results apply to a range of phenomena, from Earth's artificial satellites to the S-stars orbiting the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre to binary and triple pulsars, exoplanets, and interplanetary probes. Readers will become acquainted with working out a variety of orbital effects other than the time-honoured perihelion precession, designing their own space-based tests, performing effective sensitivity analyses, and assessing realistic error budgets.

Introduction to Supergravity and its Applications
  • Horatiu Nastase
  • Published online:
    14 November 2024
    Print publication:
    21 November 2024
  • This graduate textbook covers the basic formalism of supergravity, as well as its modern applications, suitable for a focused first course. Assuming a working knowledge of quantum field theory, Part I gives the basic formalism, including on- and off-shell supergravity, the covariant formulation, superspace and coset formulations, coupling to matter, higher dimensions and extended supersymmetry. A wide range of modern applications are introduced in Part II, including string theoretical (T- and U-duality, AdS/CFT, susy and sugra on the worldsheet, superembeddings), gravitational (p-brane solutions and their susy, attractor mechanism, Witten's positive energy theorem) and phenomenological (inflation in supergravity, supergravity no-go theorems, string theory constructions at low energies, minimal supergravity and its susy-breaking). The broader emphasis on applications than competing texts gives Ph.D. students the tools they need to do research that uses supergravity and benefits researchers already working in areas related to supergravity.

An Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology
  • 2nd edition
  • Jerzy Plebanski, Andrzej Krasinski
  • Published online:
    30 May 2024
    Print publication:
    06 June 2024
  • Experts Plebański and Krasiński provide a thorough introduction to the tools of general relativity and relativistic cosmology. Assuming familiarity with advanced calculus, classical mechanics, electrodynamics and special relativity, the text begins with a short course on differential geometry, taking a unique top-down approach. Starting with general manifolds on which only tensors are defined, the covariant derivative and affine connection are introduced before moving on to geodesics and curvature. Only then is the metric tensor and the (pseudo)-Riemannian geometry introduced, specialising the general results to this case. The main text describes relativity as a physical theory, with applications to astrophysics and cosmology. It takes the reader beyond traditional courses on relativity through in-depth descriptions of inhomogeneous cosmological models and the Kerr metric. Emphasis is given to complete and clear derivations of the results, enabling readers to access research articles published in relativity journals.

An Introduction to Gravity
  • Joel Franklin
  • Published online:
    04 May 2024
    Print publication:
    11 April 2024
  • Einstein's theory of gravity can be difficult to introduce at the undergraduate level, or for self-study. One way to ease its introduction is to construct intermediate theories between the previous successful theory of gravity, Newton's, and our modern theory, Einstein's general relativity. This textbook bridges the gap by merging Newtonian gravity and special relativity (by analogy with electricity and magnetism), a process that both builds intuition about general relativity, and indicates why it has the form that it does. This approach is used to motivate the structure of the full theory, as a nonlinear field equation governing a second rank tensor with geometric interpretation, and to understand its predictions by comparing it with the, often qualitatively correct, predictions of intermediate theories between Newton's and Einstein's. Suitable for a one-semester course at junior or senior level, this student-friendly approach builds on familiar undergraduate physics to illuminate the structure of general relativity.

Quantum Geometry, Matrix Theory, and Gravity
  • Harold C. Steinacker
  • Published online:
    04 April 2024
    Print publication:
    11 April 2024
  • Building on mathematical structures familiar from quantum mechanics, this book provides an introduction to quantization in a broad context before developing a framework for quantum geometry in Matrix Theory and string theory. Taking a physics-oriented approach to quantum geometry, this framework helps explain the physics of Yang–Mills-type matrix models, leading to a quantum theory of space-time and matter. This novel framework is then applied to Matrix Theory, which is defined through distinguished maximally supersymmetric matrix models related to string theory. A mechanism for gravity is discussed in depth, which emerges as a quantum effect on quantum space-time within Matrix Theory. Using explicit examples and exercises, readers will develop a physical intuition for the mathematical concepts and mechanisms. It will benefit advanced students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics, and is a useful resource for physicists and mathematicians interested in the geometrical aspects of quantization in a broader context.

Introduction to Galaxy Formation and Evolution
  • From Primordial Gas to Present-Day Galaxies
  • Andrea Cimatti, Filippo Fraternali, Carlo Nipoti
  • Published online:
    09 February 2024
    Print publication:
    17 October 2019
  • Present-day elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies are large systems made of stars, gas and dark matter. Their properties result from a variety of physical processes that have occurred during the nearly fourteen billion years since the Big Bang. This comprehensive textbook, which bridges the gap between introductory and specialized texts, explains the key physical processes of galaxy formation, from the cosmological recombination of primordial gas to the evolution of the different galaxies that we observe in the Universe today. In a logical sequence, the book introduces cosmology, illustrates the properties of galaxies in the present-day Universe, then explains the physical processes behind galaxy formation in the cosmological context, taking into account the most recent developments in this field. The text ends on how to find distant galaxies with multi-wavelength observations, and how to extract the physical and evolutionary properties based on imaging and spectroscopic data.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
  • A Concise Introduction
  • Brian P. Dolan
  • Published online:
    15 June 2023
    Print publication:
    29 June 2023
  • Einstein's general theory of relativity can be a notoriously difficult subject for students approaching it for the first time, with arcane mathematical concepts such as connection coefficients and tensors adorned with a forest of indices. This book is an elementary introduction to Einstein's theory and the physics of curved space-times that avoids these complications as much as possible. Its first half describes the physics of black holes, gravitational waves and the expanding Universe, without using tensors. Only in the second half are Einstein's field equations derived and used to explain the dynamical evolution of the early Universe and the creation of the first elements. Each chapter concludes with problem sets and technical mathematical details are given in the appendices. This short text is intended for undergraduate physics students who have taken courses in special relativity and advanced mechanics.

A General Relativity Coursebook
  • Ed Daw
  • Published online:
    03 May 2023
    Print publication:
    06 April 2023
  • General relativity is a subject that most undergraduates in physics are particularly curious about, but it has a reputation for being very difficult. This book provides as gentle an introduction to general relativity as possible, leading you through the necessary mathematics in order to arrive at important results. Of course, you cannot avoid the mathematics of general relativity altogether, but, using this book, you can gain an appreciation of tensors and differential geometry at a pace you can keep up with. Early chapters build up to a complete derivation of Einstein's Equations, while the final chapters cover the key applications on black holes, cosmology and gravitational waves. It is designed as a coursebook with just enough material to cover in a one-semester undergraduate class, but it is also accessible to any numerate readers who wish to appreciate the power and beauty of Einstein's creation for themselves.

A Course in Cosmology
  • From Theory to Practice
  • Dragan Huterer
  • Published online:
    31 March 2023
    Print publication:
    09 March 2023
  • This new graduate textbook adopts a pedagogical approach to contemporary cosmology that enables readers to build an intuitive understanding of theory and data, and of how they interact, which is where the greatest advances in the field are currently being made. Using analogies, intuitive explanations of complex topics, worked examples and computational problems, the book begins with the physics of the early universe, and goes on to cover key concepts such as inflation, dark matter and dark energy, large‑scale structure, and cosmic microwave background. Computational and data analysis techniques, and statistics, are integrated throughout the text, particularly in the chapters on late-universe cosmology, while another chapter is entirely devoted to the basics of statistical methods. A solutions manual for end-of-chapter problems is available to instructors, and suggested syllabi, based on different course lengths and emphasis, can be found in the Preface. Online computer code and datasets enhance the student learning experience.

Supermassive Black Holes
  • Andrew King
  • Published online:
    23 March 2023
    Print publication:
    30 March 2023
  • Written by an international leader in the field, this is a coherent and accessible account of the concepts that are now vital for understanding cutting-edge work on supermassive black holes. These include accretion disc misalignment, disc breaking and tearing, chaotic accretion, the merging of binary supermassive holes, the demographics of supermassive black holes, and the defining effects of feedback on their host galaxies. The treatment is largely analytic and gives in-depth discussions of the underlying physics, including gas dynamics, ideal and non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics, force-free electrodynamics, accretion disc physics, and the properties of the Kerr metric. It stresses aspects where conventional assumptions may be inappropriate and encourages the reader to think critically about current models. This volume will be useful for graduate or Masters courses in astrophysics, and as a handbook for active researchers in the field. eBook formats include colour figures while print formats are greyscale only.

The Irresistible Attraction of Gravity
  • A Journey to Discover Black Holes
  • Luciano Rezzolla
  • Published online:
    02 March 2023
    Print publication:
    02 March 2023
  • The mystery of gravity has captivated us for centuries. But what is gravity and how does it work? This engaging book delves into the bizarre and often counter-intuitive world of gravitational physics. Join distinguished astrophysicist Professor Luciano Rezzolla on this virtual journey into Einstein's world of gravity, with each milestone presenting ever more fascinating aspects of gravitation. Through gentle exposure to concepts such as spacetime curvature and general relativity, you will discover some of the most curious consequences of gravitational physics, such as black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. The author presents and explains one of the most impressive scientific achievements of recent times: the first image of a supermassive black hole. Written by one of the key scientists involved in producing these results, you'll get a behind-the-scenes view of how the image was captured and discover what happens to matter and light near a black hole.

The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time
  • 50th Anniversary Edition
  • Stephen W. Hawking, George F. R. Ellis
  • Published online:
    17 February 2023
    Print publication:
    16 February 2023
  • First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form 'black holes'; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of space-time curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general space-time, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past fifty years.

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