Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:23:03.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - The Geometry of Curved Spaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2023

Brian P. Dolan
Affiliation:
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Get access

Summary

The mathematics required to analyse higher dimensional curved spaces and space-times is developed in this chapter. General coordinate transformations, tangent spaces, vectors and tensors are described. Lie derivatives and covariant derivatives are motivated and defined. The concepts of parallel transport and a connection is introduced and the relation between the Levi-Civita connection and geodesics is elucidated. Christoffel symbols the Riemann tensor are defined as well as the Ricci tensor, the Ricci scalar and the Einstein tensor, and their algebraic and differential properties are described (though technical details of the derivationa of the Rimeann tensor are let to an appendix).

Type
Chapter
Information
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
A Concise Introduction
, pp. 85 - 118
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Geometry of Curved Spaces
  • Brian P. Dolan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
  • Online publication: 15 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009263689.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Geometry of Curved Spaces
  • Brian P. Dolan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
  • Online publication: 15 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009263689.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Geometry of Curved Spaces
  • Brian P. Dolan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
  • Online publication: 15 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009263689.005
Available formats
×