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General Theory of Relativity Overview

This document provides an introduction to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. It begins with an overview of Newtonian physics and Special Relativity, including concepts like Galilean relativity, the principle of equivalence, and Lorentz transformations. The bulk of the document then covers the mathematics of General Relativity, including tensors, coordinate systems, metric tensors, non-inertial reference frames, differentiation and integration of forms, and Killing vectors. The goal is to provide the necessary mathematical foundations for understanding Einstein's theory of general relativity.

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98 views7 pages

General Theory of Relativity Overview

This document provides an introduction to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. It begins with an overview of Newtonian physics and Special Relativity, including concepts like Galilean relativity, the principle of equivalence, and Lorentz transformations. The bulk of the document then covers the mathematics of General Relativity, including tensors, coordinate systems, metric tensors, non-inertial reference frames, differentiation and integration of forms, and Killing vectors. The goal is to provide the necessary mathematical foundations for understanding Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Uploaded by

december29
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Einstein’s

General Theory of Relativity

Øyvind Grøn and Sigbjørn Hervik


ii

Version 9th December 2004.


c
Grøn & Hervik.
Contents

Preface xv

Notation xvii

I I NTRODUCTION :
N EWTONIAN P HYSICS AND S PECIAL R ELATIVITY 1
1 Relativity Principles and Gravitation 3
1.1 Newtonian mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Galilei–Newton’s principle of Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 The principle of Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Newton’s law of Gravitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Local form of Newton’s Gravitational law . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6 Tidal forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.7 The principle of equivalence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.8 The covariance principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.9 Mach’s principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2 The Special Theory of Relativity 21


2.1 Coordinate systems and Minkowski-diagrams . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2 Synchronization of clocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3 The Doppler effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.4 Relativistic time-dilatation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.5 The relativity of simultaneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.6 The Lorentz-contraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.7 The Lorentz transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.8 Lorentz-invariant interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.9 The twin-paradox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.10 Hyperbolic motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.11 Energy and mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.12 Relativistic increase of mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.13 Tachyons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.14 Magnetism as a relativistic second-order effect . . . . . . . . . . 40
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

II T HE M ATHEMATICS OF THE
G ENERAL T HEORY OF R ELATIVITY 49
3 Vectors, Tensors, and Forms 51
3.1 Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
iv Contents

3.2 Four-vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.3 One-forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.4 Tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.5 Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

4 Basis Vector Fields and the Metric Tensor 63


4.1 Manifolds and their coordinate-systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.2 Tangent vector fields and the coordinate basis vector fields . . . 65
4.3 Structure coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.4 General basis transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.5 The metric tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.6 Orthonormal basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4.7 Spatial geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.8 The tetrad field of a comoving coordinate system . . . . . . . . . 80
4.9 The volume form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.10 Dual forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

5 Non-inertial Reference Frames 89


5.1 Spatial geometry in rotating reference frames . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.2 Ehrenfest’s paradox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5.3 The Sagnac effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.4 Gravitational time dilatation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.5 Uniformly accelerated reference frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.6 Covariant Lagrangian dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
5.7 A general equation for the Doppler effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

6 Differentiation, Connections and Integration 109


6.1 Exterior Differentiation of forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
6.2 Electromagnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.3 Integration of forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.4 Covariant differentiation of vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.5 Covariant differentiation of forms and tensors . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.6 Exterior differentiation of vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.7 Covariant exterior derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
6.8 Geodesic normal coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
6.9 One-parameter groups of diffeomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
6.10 The Lie derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
6.11 Killing vectors and Symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

7 Curvature 149
7.1 Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
7.2 Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7.3 The Riemann Curvature Tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
7.4 Extrinsic and Intrinsic Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
7.5 The equation of geodesic deviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
7.6 Spaces of constant curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Contents v

III E INSTEIN ’ S F IELD E QUATIONS 175

8 Einstein’s Field Equations 177


8.1 Deduction of Einstein’s vacuum field equations from Hilbert’s
variational principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
8.2 The field equations in the presence of matter and energy . . . . 180
8.3 Energy-momentum conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
8.4 Energy-momentum tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
8.5 Some particular fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
8.6 The paths of free point particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

9 The Linear Field Approximation 191


9.1 The linearised field equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
9.2 The Newtonian limit of general relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
9.3 Solutions to the linearised field equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
9.4 Gravitoelectromagnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
9.5 Gravitational waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
9.6 Gravitational radiation from sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

10 The Schwarzschild Solution and Black Holes 211


10.1 The Schwarzschild solution for empty space . . . . . . . . . . . 211
10.2 Radial free fall in Schwarzschild spacetime . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
10.3 The light-cone in a Schwarzschild spacetime . . . . . . . . . . . 217
10.4 Particle trajectories in Schwarzschild spacetime . . . . . . . . . . 221
10.5 Analytical extension of the Schwarzschild spacetime . . . . . . . 226
10.6 Charged and rotating black holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
10.7 Black Hole thermodynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
10.8 The Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
10.9 The interior Schwarzschild solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

IV C OSMOLOGY 259

11 Homogeneous and Isotropic Universe Models 261


11.1 The cosmological principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
11.2 Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
11.3 Dynamics of Homogeneous and Isotropic cosmologies . . . . . 265
11.4 Cosmological redshift and the Hubble law . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
11.5 Radiation dominated universe models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
11.6 Matter dominated universe models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
11.7 The gravitational lens effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
11.8 Redshift-luminosity relation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
11.9 Cosmological horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
11.10Big Bang in an infinite Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
vi Contents

12 Universe Models with Vacuum Energy 297


12.1 Einstein’s static universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
12.2 de Sitter’s solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
12.3 The de Sitter hyperboloid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
12.4 The horizon problem and the flatness problem . . . . . . . . . . 302
12.5 Inflation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
12.6 The Friedmann-Lemaître model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
12.7 Universe models with quintessence energy . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
12.8 Dark energy and the statefinder diagnostic . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
12.9 Cosmic density perturbations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
12.10Temperature fluctuations in the CMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
12.11Mach’s principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
12.12The History of our Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

13 An Anisotropic Universe 359


13.1 The Bianchi type I universe model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
13.2 The Kasner solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
13.3 The energy-momentum conservation law in an anisotropic uni-
verse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
13.4 Models with a perfect fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
13.5 Inflation through bulk viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
13.6 A universe with a dissipative fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

V A DVANCED T OPICS 375


14 Covariant decomposition, Singularities, and Canonical Cosmology 377
14.1 Covariant decomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
14.2 Equations of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
14.3 Singularities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
14.4 Lagrangian formulation of General Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . 387
14.5 Hamiltonian formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
14.6 Canonical formulation with matter and energy . . . . . . . . . . 392
14.7 The space of three-metrics: Superspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

15 Homogeneous Spaces 401


15.1 Lie groups and Lie algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
15.2 Homogeneous spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
15.3 The Bianchi models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
15.4 The orthonormal frame approach to the Bianchi models . . . . . 411
15.5 The 8 model geometries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
15.6 Constructing compact quotients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

16 Israel’s Formalism: The metric junction method 427


16.1 The relativistic theory of surface layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
16.2 Einstein’s field equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
16.3 Surface layers and boundary surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
16.4 Spherical shell of dust in vacuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Contents vii

17 Brane-worlds 441
17.1 Field equations on the brane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
17.2 Five-dimensional brane cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
17.3 Problem with perfect fluid brane world in an empty bulk . . . . 447
17.4 Solutions in the bulk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
17.5 Towards a realistic brane cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
17.6 Inflation in the brane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
17.7 Dynamics of two branes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
17.8 The hierarchy problem and the weakness of gravity . . . . . . . 457
17.9 The Randall-Sundrum models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

18 Kaluza-Klein Theory 465


18.1 A fifth extra dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
18.2 The Kaluza-Klein action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
18.3 Implications of a fifth extra dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
18.4 Conformal transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
18.5 Conformal transformation of the Kaluza-Klein action . . . . . . 478
18.6 Kaluza-Klein cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

VI A PPENDICES 487
A Constants of Nature 489

B Penrose diagrams 491


B.1 Conformal transformations and causal structure . . . . . . . . . 491
B.2 Schwarzschild spacetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
B.3 de Sitter spacetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

C Anti-de Sitter spacetime 497


C.1 The anti-de Sitter hyperboloid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
C.2 Foliations of AdSn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
C.3 Geodesics in AdSn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
C.4 The BTZ black hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
C.5 AdS3 as the group SL(2, R) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

D Suggested further reading 503

Bibliography 507

Index 515

Common questions

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FRW models describe the universe as homogeneous and isotropic on large scales, characterizing its geometry and expansion dynamics. They are solutions to Einstein's field equations under the assumption of a perfect fluid with a constant density and pressure, allowing the study of different scenarios of universal evolution such as open, closed, and flat universes .

The Lorentz transformation demonstrates that simultaneity is relative depending on the observer’s inertial frame. Events that are simultaneous in one frame may not be simultaneous in another moving relative to the first. This results from the time dilation expressed in the transformation, altering how time intervals are perceived across different inertial frames, thus impacting the relativity of simultaneity .

Tensor calculus is fundamental to formulating general relativity because it provides the language and tools needed to describe physical laws in any coordinate system, ensuring general covariance. Einstein's field equations are expressed using tensors, which describe how matter and energy influence the curvature of spacetime. This representation allows the laws of physics to remain invariant under arbitrary changes in the coordinate system .

Gravitational time dilation, a consequence of general relativity, implies that time runs slower in stronger gravitational fields. Clocks closer to a massive object, like a planet or a star, tick more slowly compared to those further away. This has measurable implications on GPS satellite systems, requiring corrections to account for the differences in elapsed time caused by Earth’s gravity .

The relativistic Doppler effect is crucial for interpreting the frequency shifts of light from moving sources. It accounts for time dilation effects, showing that light from objects moving towards an observer is blueshifted while that from receding objects is redshifted. This effect supports the evidence for universal expansion (Hubble's Law) and has applications in understanding stellar motion and relativistic jets in astronomy .

The principle of equivalence is a cornerstone of Einstein's general theory of relativity. It posits that locally (i.e., in sufficiently small regions of space and time), the effects of gravity are indistinguishable from those of acceleration. This leads to the notion that a uniform gravitational field is equivalent to a uniformly accelerating frame of reference. In general relativity, this principle extends to suggest that gravity affects the geometry of spacetime itself, manifesting as curvature .

The Schwarzschild solution is crucial as it provides the first exact solution to Einstein's field equations, describing the gravitational field outside a spherical, non-rotating mass. It predicts the existence of the Schwarzschild radius, defining the event horizon of a black hole. This sets the foundation for understanding black hole properties, such as singularity and the event horizon, and their gravitational effects on nearby objects .

The cosmological constant, originally introduced by Einstein, represents a constant energy density filling space homogeneously. In contemporary cosmology, it is associated with dark energy, which is thought to drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. This challenges earlier static models and provides a parameter for explaining observations like the increasing rate of the cosmic redshift over time .

General relativity predicts the existence of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime caused by accelerating massive objects. This was a departure from classical physics, which did not accommodate the idea that gravitational influences could propagate through space as waves. Their discovery confirmed that they travel at the speed of light, consistent with relativity's predictions, challenging the Newtonian idea of instantaneous action at a distance .

In general relativity, geodesics are the paths that particles and light follow through spacetime under the influence of gravity alone. They generalize the concept of straight lines to curved spacetime, dictated by the metric tensor. Geodesics represent the trajectory of free-falling objects, demonstrating how gravity curves paths, serving as equations of motion for particles in gravitational fields .

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