Gravitation and Spacetime

Hans C. Ohanian received his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD from Princeton University, where he worked with John A. Wheeler. He has taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Vermont, and in summer courses at UNED in Spain. He has published several textbooks in addition to Gravity and Spacetime, including Classical Electrodynamics and Principles of Quantum Mechanics, as well as articles on various aspects of relativity and quantum theory. Remo Ruffini is the Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Rome, where he received his PhD, and has also taught at Princeton University. He is an editor of the International Journal of Modern Physics and has acted as an advisor to NASA and the Italian Space Agency. In addition to Gravitation and Spacetime, his published works include Cosmology from Space Platforms, Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, Basic Concepts in Relativistic Astrophysics, Gamow Cosmology and various articles and edited volumes.

'A most welcome updated third edition of this splendid textbook on gravitation and spacetime, which provides an excellent introduction to the mathematical and physical foundations underlying our current understanding of the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars, black holes, and gamma ray bursts.' Riccardo Giacconi, Nobel Laureate and University Professor, Johns Hopkins University

• Preface; 1. Newton's gravitational theory; 2. The formalism of special relativity; 3. The linear approximation; 4. Applications of the linear approximation; 5. Gravitational waves; 6. Riemannian geometry; 7. Einstein's gravitational theory; 8. Black holes and gravitational collapse; 9. Cosmology; 10. The early universe; Appendix: variational principle and energy-momentum tensor; Answers; Index.