PHYS-4961: General Relativity

ASTR-4240: Gravitation & Cosmology

Tentative Schedule - Spring, 2008

Class	Date	Read*	Topic
1	1/15	1.1-3	Newtonian Gravity
2	1/18	1.4	Multipole Expansion
3	1/22	1.5-6	Equivalence Principle
4	1/25	1.8-9	Tidal Forces
5	1/29	2.1-2	Special Relativity
6	2/1	2.3-4	Tensor Fields
7	2/5	2.5,7	Relativistic Electrodynamics
8	2/8	3.1-2	Relativistic Gravity: Weak-Field Limit
9	2/12	3.3	Interaction of Gravity with Matter
10	2/15	3.4-5	Equation of Motion
	2/19		NO CLASS (Monday schedule)
11	2/22	3.6	Geometric Interpretation of Gravity
12	2/26	4.1-3	Weak-Field Tests of GR
13	2/29		Cancelled
14	3/4	4.5-6	Gravitational Lensing
15	3/7		Cancelled
	3/11		NO CLASS (Spring Break)
	3/14		NO CLASS (Spring Break)
16	3/18	4.7	Frame Dragging
17	3/21	5.1-2	Quiz 1; Gravity Waves
18	3/25	6.1-2	Covariant Differentiation
19	3/28	6.3-4	Geodesics
20	4/1	6.5	Spacetime Curvature
21	4/4	6.6	Geodesic Deviation and Tidal Forces
22	4/8	7.1-4	Einstein’s Field Equations
23	4/11		Quiz 2
24	4/15	7.5-8	Observational Tests of GR
25	4/18	8.1-3	Black Holes
26	4/22		Black Holes
27	4/25		Black Holes
28	4/29		Quiz 3

*Required reading in Ohanian & Ruffini.

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Last modified 4/28/08.