Phys 225B General Relativity

Instructor: Lee Lindblom   403 SERF, llindblom [at] ucsd.edu
Term: Winter 2016
Lecture: 12:30p-1:50p MW, 5301 Mayer
Office Hours: 2:00p-2:50p M  (or by appointment), 403 SERF


  • HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:

    • Week 1: Homework Assignment   # 1.
                    Supplemental Reading:   Lindblom, et al., 2006.

    Week 2: Homework Assignment   # 2.

    Week 3: Supplemental Reading:   Israel, W. 1967.

    Week 4: Homework Assignment   # 3.

    Week 5: Supplemental Reading:   Hartle, J. 1978.

    Week 6: Homework Assignment   # 4.

    Week 7: Supplemental Reading: Robert M. Wald, General Relativity (1984), Section 7.5.

    Week 8: Supplemental Reading: Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne, John A. Wheeler, Gravitation (1973), Sections 35.13-15, 36.1-11.

    Week 9: Homework Assignment   # 5.

    Week 10: Final Homework Assignment.


  • COURSE DESCRIPTION:
    • The following is the description of the course from the UCSD catalog .

    225A–B. General Relativity (4-4)

    This is a two-quarter course on gravitation and the general theory of relativity. The first quarter is intended to be offered every year and may be taken independently of the second quarter. The second quarter will be offered in alternate years. Topics covered in the first quarter include special relativity, differential geometry, the equivalence principle, the Einstein field equations, and experimental and observational tests of gravitation theories. The second quarter will focus on more advanced topics, including gravitational collapse, Schwarzschild and Kerr geometries, black holes, gravitational radiation, cosmology, and quantum gravitation. (225B offered in alternate years.) (F,W)

  • PLANNED TOPICS FOR 225B (WINTER 2016):
    1. Dynamical Structure of General Relativity
    2. Static black holes (Israel's Theorem)
    3. Static stellar models
      • maximum mass limit
      • inverse stellar structure problem
    4. More general black holes
    5. Gravitational Radiation

    Textbooks/References:

  • GRADES, HOMEWORKS, EXAMS, AND IMPORTANT DATES:
    • Course information, such as the planned lecture topics for the week, any homework assignments, and so forth, will be maintained on this class webpage. Note that I sometimes make minor changes to both the lectures and homework assignments as the quarter progresses, based on how much I am able to cover in the lectures, and which directions we go based partially on the interests of the students.

    The course will be graded on attending most of the lectures, doing some homework assignments, and a final "take home" examination, according to the following guidelines:

    Participation in Class (I.e., coming to most of the lectures): 25% of grade
    Homeworks (approximately one assignment each week): 25% of grade
    Final Exam (take home exam) 50% of grade

    The "participation in class" part of the course is that I simply want you to try to come to most of the lectures; doing that will give you full marks on that part of the grade. (I will not actually take attendence; you are all adults.)

    The "homeworks" will be based on the lectures, and will just give you the opportunity to use some of the tools we go over in the lecture. They should not be particularly time-consuming; they are for your benefit. Similar to the participation metric, if you make a good attempt on the homework then I will give you full marks. (I do not plan to formally grade the homeworks, but will try to give you feedback if you feel you need it.)

    The final will be a "take home" exam, which will simply be some problems from the list of homework problems (that you will probably have already attempted during the quarter), plus just a few other problems you will not have seen. Some students travel during spring break, so I will make the take home final available in the middle of the last week of the quarter. The final exam will be due at Wednesday March 16, 2016 at 2:30p. I will be in my office during my regular office hour between 2:00p - 2:50p on Monday March 14, and can answer any last-minute questions then about problems on the take home final.

    Here are some important dates:

    First lecture: Monday 1/4/2016
    Holiday: Monday 1/18/2016 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
    Holiday: Monday 2/15/2016 (President's day)
    Last lecture: Wednesday 3/9/2016
    Finals week: Monday-Friday, 3/14-3/18/2016
    Take Home Final Exam Due Date: Wednesday, 3/16/2016 (by 2:30pm in my office)