PHYS 4400 Introduction to Relativity and Cosmology

4 semester hours

Review of Special Relativity. Differential geometry, tensor analysis and curvature. The Equivalence Principle and Einstein's field equations. The Schwarzschild solution and Black Holes. Gravitational waves. Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates and Penrose Diagrams. The standard model of Cosmology and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metrics. The Friedmann equation and the cosmological constant. Inflation, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and other problems of current cosmology. Black hole thermodynamics. Alternative theories of gravity and their implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and quantum gravity.

Lecture, 3 hours.

Prerequisite: PHYS 2600, MATH 245

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