Beyond Einstein

Description

This volume explores the interplay between mathematical and physical research and the interactions of twentieth-century scientists within their academic communities. Beginning with Einstein’s general theory of relativity, the authors investigate a series of dramatic discoveries and rival theories in physics that influenced the development of modern differential geometry. Other sections recount the numerous methods, like the resurgence of Weyl geometry, used by geometers to solve the problems revealed by those same innovations in space-time physics. The effect of general relativity on astronomy is also addressed, namely how astronomers worked through new theories like inflationary cosmology and Phoenix models. By including recent historical research and coupling this work with many disciplines’ unique perspectives, this text provides a rich picture of general relativity and cosmology over the course of the twentieth century. The increased study on the documentation of Einstein’s early scientific work has clarified the history of science for that time and profoundly altered the way scientists view their own work, as this interdisciplinary volume demonstrates. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Figures of Light in the Early History of Relativity (1905–1914) (Scott A. Walter)....Pages 3-50 The Behaviour of Rods and Clocks in General Relativity and the Meaning of the Metric Field (Harvey R. Brown)....Pages 51-66 Hilbert on General Covariance and Causality (Katherine Brading, Thomas Ryckman)....Pages 67-77 Front Matter ....Pages 79-79 Putting General Relativity to the Test: Twentieth-Century Highlights and Twenty-First-Century Prospects (Clifford M. Will)....Pages 81-96 Rotating Hollow and Full Spheres: Einstein, Thirring, Lense, and Beyond (Herbert Pfister)....Pages 97-110 Relativistic Lighthouses: The Role of the Binary Pulsar in Proving the Existence of Gravitational Waves (Daniel Kennefick)....Pages 111-136 The Rise and Fall of the Fifth Force (Allan Franklin)....Pages 137-179 Front Matter ....Pages 181-181 Cyclic Models of the Relativistic Universe: The Early History (Helge Kragh)....Pages 183-204 Inflation and the Origins of Structure (Chris Smeenk)....Pages 205-241 Problems with Modified Theories of Gravity, as Alternatives to Dark Energy (Norbert Straumann)....Pages 243-259 The Unexpected Resurgence of Weyl Geometry in late 20th-Century Physics (Erhard Scholz)....Pages 261-360 Front Matter ....Pages 361-361 Matter from Space (Domenico Giulini)....Pages 363-399 The Surprising Resolution of the Poincaré Conjecture (Donal O’Shea)....Pages 401-415 Unified Field Theory up to the 1960s: Its Development and Some Interactions Among Research Groups (Hubert Goenner)....Pages 417-435 Front Matter ....Pages 437-437 The Formulation of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime (Robert M. Wald)....Pages 439-449 Conformal Infinity – Development and Applications (Jörg Frauendiener)....Pages 451-473 String Theory and Spacetime Geometry (Matthias R. Gaberdiel)....Pages 475-490 Back Matter ....Pages 491-492