Building the General Relativity and Gravitation Community During the Cold War
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On the Status of the Geodesic Principle in Newtonian and Relativistic Physics1
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by PhilSci Archive On the Status of the Geodesic Principle in Newtonian and Relativistic Physics1 James Owen Weatherall2 Logic and Philosophy of Science University of California, Irvine Abstract A theorem due to Bob Geroch and Pong Soo Jang [\Motion of a Body in General Relativ- ity." Journal of Mathematical Physics 16(1), (1975)] provides a sense in which the geodesic principle has the status of a theorem in General Relativity (GR). I have recently shown that a similar theorem holds in the context of geometrized Newtonian gravitation (Newton- Cartan theory) [Weatherall, J. O. \The Motion of a Body in Newtonian Theories." Journal of Mathematical Physics 52(3), (2011)]. Here I compare the interpretations of these two the- orems. I argue that despite some apparent differences between the theorems, the status of the geodesic principle in geometrized Newtonian gravitation is, mutatis mutandis, strikingly similar to the relativistic case. 1 Introduction The geodesic principle is the central principle of General Relativity (GR) that describes the inertial motion of test particles. It states that free massive test point particles traverse timelike geodesics. There is a long-standing view, originally due to Einstein, that the geodesic principle has a special status in GR that arises because it can be understood as a theorem, rather than a postulate, of the theory. (It turns out that capturing the geodesic principle as a theorem in GR is non-trivial, but a result due to Bob Geroch and Pong Soo Jang (1975) 1Thank you to David Malament and Jeff Barrett for helpful comments on a previous version of this paper and for many stimulating conversations on this topic. -
The Geodesic Spacetime Equation for Body Motion in Gravitational Fields
The Geodesic Spacetime Equation for Body Motion in Gravitational Fields "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility" - Albert Einstein ( 1879 - 1955 ) § Einstein's "Law of Equivalence of Acceleration and Gravity" or "The Principle of Equivalence" : Fields of acceleration and fields of gravity are equivalent physical phenomenon. That is, if there's no "upward" acceleration, then there's no "downward" gravity. Preliminary Understanding of the following Mathematical Symbols Naïve realism easily allows ordinary understanding of the mathematical symbols of ; however, for deeper understanding of physical reality it becomes necessary to invent newer and more powerful mathematical tools such as the Christoffel symbol by which a deeper probing of external reality is made entirely possible. Hence, a certain amount of patient indulgence is asked of the serious reader of this mathematical essay since it is strongly suggested that by a thorough reading of these general relativity equations and the tightly woven logic by which they are presented, that with final patience the reader of Relativity Calculator will have a fairly good grasp of the underlying mathematical physics of Einstein's ultimate gravitational equation! A Quick Introductory Meaning of Geodesic Motion Sir Arthur Eddington ( 1882 - 1944 ) on May 29, 1919 tentatively, but empirically, confirmed Einstein's mathematical general relativity conjecture that light passing near the gravity field of the sun was slightly, but convincingly, bent in the spacetime proximate vicinity of the sun, thus showing that on grand cosmic scales there is no such reality for Euclid's straight geometry lines. Likewise, gyroscopic motion will equivalently follow the curvilinear contours of spacetime fabric as influenced by other gravitational fields. -
Of the American Mathematical Society August 2017 Volume 64, Number 7
ISSN 0002-9920 (print) ISSN 1088-9477 (online) of the American Mathematical Society August 2017 Volume 64, Number 7 The Mathematics of Gravitational Waves: A Two-Part Feature page 684 The Travel Ban: Affected Mathematicians Tell Their Stories page 678 The Global Math Project: Uplifting Mathematics for All page 712 2015–2016 Doctoral Degrees Conferred page 727 Gravitational waves are produced by black holes spiraling inward (see page 674). American Mathematical Society LEARNING ® MEDIA MATHSCINET ONLINE RESOURCES MATHEMATICS WASHINGTON, DC CONFERENCES MATHEMATICAL INCLUSION REVIEWS STUDENTS MENTORING PROFESSION GRAD PUBLISHING STUDENTS OUTREACH TOOLS EMPLOYMENT MATH VISUALIZATIONS EXCLUSION TEACHING CAREERS MATH STEM ART REVIEWS MEETINGS FUNDING WORKSHOPS BOOKS EDUCATION MATH ADVOCACY NETWORKING DIVERSITY blogs.ams.org Notices of the American Mathematical Society August 2017 FEATURED 684684 718 26 678 Gravitational Waves The Graduate Student The Travel Ban: Affected Introduction Section Mathematicians Tell Their by Christina Sormani Karen E. Smith Interview Stories How the Green Light was Given for by Laure Flapan Gravitational Wave Research by Alexander Diaz-Lopez, Allyn by C. Denson Hill and Paweł Nurowski WHAT IS...a CR Submanifold? Jackson, and Stephen Kennedy by Phillip S. Harrington and Andrew Gravitational Waves and Their Raich Mathematics by Lydia Bieri, David Garfinkle, and Nicolás Yunes This season of the Perseid meteor shower August 12 and the third sighting in June make our cover feature on the discovery of gravitational waves -
Wave Extraction in Numerical Relativity
Doctoral Dissertation Wave Extraction in Numerical Relativity Dissertation zur Erlangung des naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorgrades der Bayrischen Julius-Maximilians-Universitat¨ Wurzburg¨ vorgelegt von Oliver Elbracht aus Warendorf Institut fur¨ Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik Fakultat¨ fur¨ Physik und Astronomie Julius-Maximilians-Universitat¨ Wurzburg¨ Wurzburg,¨ August 2009 Eingereicht am: 27. August 2009 bei der Fakultat¨ fur¨ Physik und Astronomie 1. Gutachter:Prof.Dr.Karl Mannheim 2. Gutachter:Prof.Dr.Thomas Trefzger 3. Gutachter:- der Dissertation. 1. Prufer¨ :Prof.Dr.Karl Mannheim 2. Prufer¨ :Prof.Dr.Thomas Trefzger 3. Prufer¨ :Prof.Dr.Thorsten Ohl im Promotionskolloquium. Tag des Promotionskolloquiums: 26. November 2009 Doktorurkunde ausgehandigt¨ am: Gewidmet meinen Eltern, Gertrud und Peter, f¨urall ihre Liebe und Unterst¨utzung. To my parents Gertrud and Peter, for all their love, encouragement and support. Wave Extraction in Numerical Relativity Abstract This work focuses on a fundamental problem in modern numerical rela- tivity: Extracting gravitational waves in a coordinate and gauge independent way to nourish a unique and physically meaningful expression. We adopt a new procedure to extract the physically relevant quantities from the numerically evolved space-time. We introduce a general canonical form for the Weyl scalars in terms of fundamental space-time invariants, and demonstrate how this ap- proach supersedes the explicit definition of a particular null tetrad. As a second objective, we further characterize a particular sub-class of tetrads in the Newman-Penrose formalism: the transverse frames. We establish a new connection between the two major frames for wave extraction: namely the Gram-Schmidt frame, and the quasi-Kinnersley frame. Finally, we study how the expressions for the Weyl scalars depend on the tetrad we choose, in a space-time containing distorted black holes. -
Einstein's Mistakes
Einstein’s Mistakes Einstein was the greatest genius of the Twentieth Century, but his discoveries were blighted with mistakes. The Human Failing of Genius. 1 PART 1 An evaluation of the man Here, Einstein grows up, his thinking evolves, and many quotations from him are listed. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein at 14 Einstein at 26 Einstein at 42 3 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein at age 61 (1940) 4 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Born in Ulm, Swabian region of Southern Germany. From a Jewish merchant family. Had a sister Maja. Family rejected Jewish customs. Did not inherit any mathematical talent. Inherited stubbornness, Inherited a roguish sense of humor, An inclination to mysticism, And a habit of grüblen or protracted, agonizing “brooding” over whatever was on its mind. Leading to the thought experiment. 5 Portrait in 1947 – age 68, and his habit of agonizing brooding over whatever was on its mind. He was in Princeton, NJ, USA. 6 Einstein the mystic •“Everyone who is seriously involved in pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man..” •“When I assess a theory, I ask myself, if I was God, would I have arranged the universe that way?” •His roguish sense of humor was always there. •When asked what will be his reactions to observational evidence against the bending of light predicted by his general theory of relativity, he said: •”Then I would feel sorry for the Good Lord. The theory is correct anyway.” 7 Einstein: Mathematics •More quotations from Einstein: •“How it is possible that mathematics, a product of human thought that is independent of experience, fits so excellently the objects of physical reality?” •Questions asked by many people and Einstein: •“Is God a mathematician?” •His conclusion: •“ The Lord is cunning, but not malicious.” 8 Einstein the Stubborn Mystic “What interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world” Some broadcasters expunged the comment from the soundtrack because they thought it was blasphemous. -
Cracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics, with an Afterword by Roy Kerr / Fulvio Melia
CRA C K I N G T H E E INSTEIN CODE @SZObWdWbgO\RbVS0W`bV]T0ZOQY6]ZS>VgaWQa eWbVO\/TbS`e]`RPg@]gS`` fulvio melia The University of Chicago Press chicago and london fulvio melia is a professor in the departments of physics and astronomy at the University of Arizona. He is the author of The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole; The Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy; The Edge of Infinity; and Electrodynamics, and he is series editor of the book series Theoretical Astrophysics published by the University of Chicago Press. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2009 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 2009 Printed in the United States of America 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5 isbn-13: 978-0-226-51951-7 (cloth) isbn-10: 0-226-51951-1 (cloth) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Melia, Fulvio. Cracking the Einstein code: relativity and the birth of black hole physics, with an afterword by Roy Kerr / Fulvio Melia. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-226-51951-7 (cloth: alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-226-51951-1 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. Einstein field equations. 2. Kerr, R. P. (Roy P.). 3. Kerr black holes—Mathematical models. 4. Black holes (Astronomy)—Mathematical models. I. Title. qc173.6.m434 2009 530.11—dc22 2008044006 To natalina panaia and cesare melia, in loving memory CONTENTS preface ix 1 Einstein’s Code 1 2 Space and Time 5 3 Gravity 15 4 Four Pillars and a Prayer 24 5 An Unbreakable Code 39 6 Roy Kerr 54 7 The Kerr Solution 69 8 Black Hole 82 9 The Tower 100 10 New Zealand 105 11 Kerr in the Cosmos 111 12 Future Breakthrough 121 afterword 125 references 129 index 133 PREFACE Something quite remarkable arrived in my mail during the summer of 2004. -
A Brief History of Gravitational Waves
universe Review A Brief History of Gravitational Waves Jorge L. Cervantes-Cota 1, Salvador Galindo-Uribarri 1 and George F. Smoot 2,3,4,* 1 Department of Physics, National Institute for Nuclear Research, Km 36.5 Carretera Mexico-Toluca, Ocoyoacac, C.P. 52750 Mexico, Mexico; [email protected] (J.L.C.-C.); [email protected] (S.G.-U.) 2 Helmut and Ana Pao Sohmen Professor at Large, Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, 999077 Hong Kong, China 3 Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire APC-PCCP, Université Paris Diderot, 10 rue Alice Domon et Leonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France 4 Department of Physics and LBNL, University of California; MS Bldg 50-5505 LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road Berkeley, 94720 CA, USA * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.:+1-510-486-5505 Academic Editors: Lorenzo Iorio and Elias C. Vagenas Received: 21 July 2016; Accepted: 2 September 2016; Published: 13 September 2016 Abstract: This review describes the discovery of gravitational waves. We recount the journey of predicting and finding those waves, since its beginning in the early twentieth century, their prediction by Einstein in 1916, theoretical and experimental blunders, efforts towards their detection, and finally the subsequent successful discovery. Keywords: gravitational waves; General Relativity; LIGO; Einstein; strong-field gravity; binary black holes 1. Introduction Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, published in November 1915, led to the prediction of the existence of gravitational waves that would be so faint and their interaction with matter so weak that Einstein himself wondered if they could ever be discovered. -
Aleksei A. Abrikosov 1928–2017
Aleksei A. Abrikosov 1928–2017 A Biographical Memoir by M. R. Norman ©2018 National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. ALEKSEI ALEKSEEVICH ABRIKOSOV June 25, 1928–March 29, 2017 Elected to the NAS, 2000 Shortly after the 2003 announcement that Aleksei Abrikosov had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, a number of colleagues took Alex to lunch at a nearby Italian restau- rant. During lunch, one of the Russian visitors exclaimed that Alex should get a second Nobel Prize, this time in Literature for his famous “AGD” book with Lev Gor’kov and Igor Dzyaloshinskii (Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics.) Somewhat taken aback, I looked closely at this individual and realized that he was deadly serious. Although I could imagine the reaction of the Nobel Literature committee to such a book (for a lay person, perhaps analogous to trying to read Finnegan’s Wake), I had to admit that my own copy of this book is quite dog-eared, having been put to good use over the By M. R. Norman years. In fact, you know you have made it in physics when your book gets a Dover edition. One of the most charming pictures I ever saw was a rare drawing in color that Alexei Tsvelik did (commissioned by Andrei Varlamov for Alex’s 50th birthday) that was proudly displayed in Alex’s home in Lemont, IL. It showed Alex with his fingers raised in a curled fashion as in the habit of medieval Popes. -
Vector and Tensor Analysis, 1950, Harry Lass, 0177610514, 9780177610516, Mcgraw- Hill, 1950
Vector and tensor analysis, 1950, Harry Lass, 0177610514, 9780177610516, McGraw- Hill, 1950 DOWNLOAD http://bit.ly/1CHWNWq http://www.powells.com/s?kw=Vector+and+tensor+analysis DOWNLOAD http://goo.gl/RBcy2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/Vector-and-tensor-analysis/id439454683 http://bit.ly/1lGfW8S Vector & Tensor Analysis , U.Chatterjee & N.Chatterjee, , , . Tensor Calculus A Concise Course, Barry Spain, 2003, Mathematics, 125 pages. A compact exposition of the theory of tensors, this text also illustrates the power of the tensor technique by its applications to differential geometry, elasticity, and. The Art of Modeling Dynamic Systems Forecasting for Chaos, Randomness and Determinism, Foster Morrison, Mar 7, 2012, Mathematics, 416 pages. This text illustrates the roles of statistical methods, coordinate transformations, and mathematical analysis in mapping complex, unpredictable dynamical systems. It describes. Partial differential equations in physics , Arnold Sommerfeld, Jan 1, 1949, Mathematics, 334 pages. Partial differential equations in physics. Tensor Calculus , John Lighton Synge, Alfred Schild, 1978, Mathematics, 324 pages. "This book is an excellent classroom text, since it is clearly written, contains numerous problems and exercises, and at the end of each chapter has a summary of the. Vector and tensor analysis , Harry Lass, 1950, Mathematics, 347 pages. Abstract Algebra and Solution by Radicals , John Edward Maxfield, Margaret W. Maxfield, 1971, Mathematics, 209 pages. Easily accessible undergraduate-level text covers groups, polynomials, Galois theory, radicals, much more. Features many examples, illustrations and commentaries as well as 13. Underwater Missile Propulsion A Selection of Authoritative Technical and Descriptive Papers, Leonard Greiner, 1968, Fleet ballistic missile weapons systems, 502 pages. -
Ivanenko. Biography
The People of Physics Faculty Selected papers of the Journal “Soviet Physicist” 1998-2006 Dmitri Ivanenko. Scientific Biography 226 Dmitri Ivanenko (29.07.1904 - 30.12.1994), professor of Moscow State University (since 1943) , was one of the great theoreticians of XX century. He made the fundamental contribution to many areas of nuclear physics, field theory and gravitation theory. His outstanding achievements include: • The Fock - Ivanenko coefficients of parallel displacement of spinors in a curved space-time (1929) 1 . Nobel laureate Abdus Salam called it the first gauge theory. • The Ambartsumian - Ivanenko hypothesis of creation of massive particles which is a corner stone of contemporary quantum field theory (1930) 2 . • The proton-neutron model of atomic nuclei (1932) 3 . • The first shell model of nuclei (in collaboration with E. Gapon) (1932) 4 . • The first model of exchange nuclear forces by means of massive particles (in collaboration with I. Tamm) (1934) 5 . Based on this model, Nobel laureate H. Yukawa developed his meson theory. • The prediction of synchrotron radiation (in collaboration with I. Pomeranchuk) (1944) 6 and its classical theory (in collaboration with A. Sokolov). • Theory of hypernucleus (1956) 7 . • The hypothesis of quark stars (in collaboration with D. Kurdgelaidze) (1965) 8 . • The gauge gravitation theory (in collaboration with G. Sardanashvily), where gravity is treated as a Higgs field responsible for spontaneous breaking of space- 9 time symmetries (1983) . References 1. Fock V., Iwanenko D., Géometrie quantique linéaire et déplacement paralléle, Compt. Rend. Acad Sci. Paris 188 (1929) 1470. 2. Ambarzumian V., Iwanenko D., Les électrons inobservables et les rayons, Compt. -
Lev Davidovich Landau Born: 12 January, 1908, Baku, Russian Empire Died: 1 April, 1968, Moscow, Soviet Union
Symmetry XIII (2019) 1 Dedicated to Lev Davidovich Landau Born: 12 January, 1908, Baku, Russian Empire Died: 1 April, 1968, Moscow, Soviet Union Symmetry XIII (2019) 2 Volume XIII, 2019 Editorial Symmetry This issue of symmetry is dedicated to the great physicists Lev Devidovich Landau. An annual Publication of CDP, TU Landau Soviet theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum theory of (Covid-19 Issue) condensed matter whose pioneering research in this field was recognized with the Patron 1962 Nobel Prize for Physics. In the year 1941, he successfully applied quantum Prof. Dr. Binil Aryal theory to the movement of superfluid liquid helium. Landau argued for the need of yet another radical conceptual revolution in physics in order to resolve the Advisory Board mounting difficulties in relativistic quantum theory. The collective work of Prof. Dr. Om Prakash Niraula Landau’s group embraced practically every branch of theoretical physics. In 1946 Prof. Dr. Raju Khanal he described the phenomenon of Landau damping of electromagnetic waves in Prof. Dr. Narayan Prasad Adhikari plasma. Together with Vitaly L. Ginzburg, in 1950 Landau obtained the correct Prof. Dr. Ram Prasad Regmi equations of the macroscopic theory of superconductivity. During the 1950s he and Prof. Dr. Ishwar Koirala collaborators discovered that even in renormalized quantum electrodynamics, a Dr. Hari Prasad Lamichhane new divergence difficulty appears (the Landau pole). The phenomenon of the Dr. Bal Ram Ghimire coupling constant becoming infinite or vanishing at some energy is an important Dr. Ajay Kumar Jha feature of modern quantum field theories. In this volume, there are 7 articles Dr. -
Erich Kretschmann As a Proto-Logical-Empiricist: Adventures and Misadventures of the Point-Coincidence Argument
Erich Kretschmann as a Proto-Logical-Empiricist: Adventures and Misadventures of the Point-Coincidence Argument Marco Giovanelli Abstract The present paper attempts to show that a 1915 article by Erich Kretschmann must be credited not only for being the source of Einstein’s point-coincidence remark, but also for having anticipated the main lines of the logical-empiricist interpretation of general relativity. Whereas Kretschmann was inspired by the work of Mach and Poincaré, Einstein inserted Kretschmann’s point-coincidence parlance into the context of Ricci and Levi-Civita’s absolute differential calculus. Kretschmann himself realized this and turned the point-coincidence ar- gument against Einstein in his second and more famous 1918 paper. While Einstein had taken nothing from Kretschmann but the expression “point-coincidences”, the logical empiricists, however, instinctively dragged along with it the entire apparatus of Kretschmann’s conven- tionalism. Disappointingly, in their interpretation of general relativity, the logical empiricists unwittingly replicated some epistemological remarks Kretschmann had written before General Relativity even existed. Keywords: Erich Kretschmann, Point Coincidence Argument, Moritz Schlick, General Relativity, Logical Empiricism, Conventionalism 1. Introduction In the early 1980s, John Stachel (Stachel, 1980) and John Norton (Norton, 1984) famously shed new light on Einstein’s celebrated, yet somewhat cryptic, claim that all physical measurements amount to a determination of space-time coincidences, such as the matching of a pointer with a scale, or, if the world consisted of nothing but particles in motion, the meetings of their world-lines. In Einstein’s published writings, this remark — which Stachel has success- fully labeled the “point-coincidence argument” — amounts to the requirement of “general covariance”: since all coordinate systems necessarily agree on coin- cidences, that is, in everything observable, there is no reason to privilege one coordinate system over another.