Relativity in Modern Physics

This comprehensive textbook on relativity integrates Newtonian physics, special relativity and general relativity into a single book that emphasizes the deep underlying principles common to them all, yet explains how they are applied in different ways in these three contexts. Newton's ideas about how to represent space and time, his laws of dynamics, and his theory of gravitation established the conceptual foundation from which modern physics developed. Book I in this volume offers undergraduates a modern view of Newtonian theory, emphasizing those aspects needed for understanding quantum and relativistic contemporary physics. In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed a novel representation of space and time, special relativity. Book II presents relativistic dynamics in inertial and accelerated frames, as well as a detailed overview of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. This provides undergraduate and graduate students with the background necessary for studying particle and accelerator physics, astrophysics and Einstein's theory of general relativity. In 1915, Einstein proposed a new theory of gravitation, general relativity. Book III in this volume develops the geometrical framework in which Einstein's equations are formulated, and presents several key applications: black holes, gravitational radiation, and cosmology, which will prepare graduate students to carry out research in relativistic astrophysics, gravitational wave astronomy, and cosmology.

Nathalie Deruelle is a researcher in Theoretical Physics and Director Research at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in France. She is based at Laboratoire Astroparticules & Cosmologie (APC) at Université Paris VII (Denis-Diderot) and is affiliated professor at the Kyoto Yukawa Institute. Deruelle has lectured at numerous summer schools and universities, including the École Polytechnique and the École Normale Supérieure. Jean-Philippe Uzan is a researcher in Theoretical Physics and Director of Research at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in France. He is currently member of the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP) at Université Paris VI (Sorbonne Université). Uzan has taught at several Paris universities, including the École Normale Supérieure, and has published specialized and popular books in physics and cosmology.