Analogue Gravity Phenomenology

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Analogue Gravity Phenomenology

Author : Daniele Faccio
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 331900266X
Total Pages : 452 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Analogue Gravity Phenomenology by : Daniele Faccio

Download or read book Analogue Gravity Phenomenology written by Daniele Faccio and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analogue Gravity Phenomenology is a collection of contributions that cover a vast range of areas in physics, ranging from surface wave propagation in fluids to nonlinear optics. The underlying common aspect of all these topics, and hence the main focus and perspective from which they are explained here, is the attempt to develop analogue models for gravitational systems. The original and main motivation of the field is the verification and study of Hawking radiation from a horizon: the enabling feature is the possibility to generate horizons in the laboratory with a wide range of physical systems that involve a flow of one kind or another. The years around 2010 and onwards witnessed a sudden surge of experimental activity in this expanding field of research. However, building an expertise in analogue gravity requires the researcher to be equipped with a rather broad range of knowledge and interests. The aim of this book is to bring the reader up to date with the latest developments and provide the basic background required in order to appreciate the goals, difficulties, and success stories in the field of analogue gravity. Each chapter of the book treats a different topic explained in detail by the major experts for each specific discipline. The first chapters give an overview of black hole spacetimes and Hawking radiation before moving on to describe the large variety of analogue spacetimes that have been proposed and are currently under investigation. This introductory part is then followed by an in-depth description of what are currently the three most promising analogue spacetime settings, namely surface waves in flowing fluids, acoustic oscillations in Bose-Einstein condensates and electromagnetic waves in nonlinear optics. Both theory and experimental endeavours are explained in detail. The final chapters refer to other aspects of analogue gravity beyond the study of Hawking radiation, such as Lorentz invariance violations and Brownian motion in curved spacetimes, before concluding with a return to the origins of the field and a description of the available observational evidence for horizons in astrophysical black holes.

Quantum Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes and Cosmology

Author : William Unruh
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3540708596
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Quantum Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes and Cosmology by : William Unruh

Download or read book Quantum Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes and Cosmology written by William Unruh and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-04-14 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recently, analogies between laboratory physics (e.g. quantum optics and condensed matter) and gravitational/cosmological phenomena such as black holes have attracted an increasing interest. This book contains a series of selected lectures devoted to this new and rapidly developing field. Various analogies connecting (apparently) different areas in physics are presented in order to bridge the gap between them and to provide an alternative point of view.

Analogue Quantum Simulation

Author : Dominik Hangleiter
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030872165
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Analogue Quantum Simulation by : Dominik Hangleiter

Download or read book Analogue Quantum Simulation written by Dominik Hangleiter and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-21 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents fresh insights into analogue quantum simulation. It argues that these simulations are a new instrument of science. They require a bespoke philosophical analysis, sensitive to both the similarities to and the differences with conventional scientific practices such as analogical argument, experimentation, and classical simulation. The analysis situates the various forms of analogue quantum simulation on the methodological map of modern science. In doing so, it clarifies the functions that analogue quantum simulation serves in scientific practice. To this end, the authors introduce a number of important terminological distinctions. They establish that analogue quantum ‘computation' and ‘emulation' are distinct scientific practices and lead to distinct forms of scientific understanding. The authors also demonstrate the normative value of the computation vs. emulation distinction at both an epistemic and a pragmatic level. The volume features a range of detailed case studies focusing on: i) cold atom computation of many-body localisation and the Higgs mode; ii) photonic emulation of quantum effects in biological systems; and iii) emulation of Hawing radiation in dispersive optical media. Overall, readers will discover a normative framework to isolate and support the goals of scientists undertaking analogue quantum simulation and emulation. This framework will prove useful to both working scientists and philosophers of science interested in cutting-edge scientific practice.

Artificial Black Holes

Author : Mario Novello
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814489603
Total Pages : 415 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (144 download)

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Book Synopsis Artificial Black Holes by : Mario Novello

Download or read book Artificial Black Holes written by Mario Novello and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2002-10-04 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Physicists are pondering on the possibility of simulating black holes in the laboratory by means of various “analog models”. These analog models, typically based on condensed matter physics, can be used to help us understand general relativity (Einstein's gravity); conversely, abstract techniques developed in general relativity can sometimes be used to help us understand certain aspects of condensed matter physics. This book contains 13 chapters — written by experts in general relativity, particle physics, and condensed matter physics — that explore various aspects of this two-way traffic.

Fourteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg14 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Parts)

Download Fourteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg14 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Parts) PDF Online Free

Author : Massimo Bianchi
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9813226617
Total Pages : 4784 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (132 download)

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Book Synopsis Fourteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg14 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Parts) by : Massimo Bianchi

Download or read book Fourteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg14 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Parts) written by Massimo Bianchi and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2017-10-13 with total page 4784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The four volumes of the proceedings of MG14 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 35 morning plenary talks over 6 days, 6 evening popular talks and 100 parallel sessions on 84 topics over 4 afternoons.Volume A contains plenary and review talks ranging from the mathematical foundations of classical and quantum gravitational theories including recent developments in string theory, to precision tests of general relativity including progress towards the detection of gravitational waves, and from supernova cosmology to relativistic astrophysics, including topics such as gamma ray bursts, black hole physics both in our galaxy and in active galactic nuclei in other galaxies, and neutron star, pulsar and white dwarf astrophysics.The remaining volumes include parallel sessions which touch on dark matter, neutrinos, X-ray sources, astrophysical black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, binary systems, radiative transfer, accretion disks, quasars, gamma ray bursts, supernovas, alternative gravitational theories, perturbations of collapsed objects, analog models, black hole thermodynamics, numerical relativity, gravitational lensing, large scale structure, observational cosmology, early universe models and cosmic microwave background anisotropies, inhomogeneous cosmology, inflation, global structure, singularities, chaos, Einstein-Maxwell systems, wormholes, exact solutions of Einstein's equations, gravitational waves, gravitational wave detectors and data analysis, precision gravitational measurements, quantum gravity and loop quantum gravity, quantum cosmology, strings and branes, self-gravitating systems, gamma ray astronomy, cosmic rays and the history of general relativity.

The Ontology of Spacetime II

Author :
Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080569889
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (85 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ontology of Spacetime II by :

Download or read book The Ontology of Spacetime II written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2008-06-17 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sixteen papers collected in this volume are expanded and revised versions of talks delivered at the Second International Conference on the Ontology of Spacetime, organized by the International Society for the Advanced Study of Spacetime (John Earman, President) at Concordia University (Montreal) from 9 to 11 June 2006. Most chapters are devoted to subjects directly relating to the ontology of spacetime. The book starts with four papers that discuss the ontological status of spacetime and the processes occurring in it from a point of view that is first of all conceptual and philosophical. The focus then slightly shifts in the five papers that follow, to considerations more directly involving technical considerations from relativity theory. After this, Time, Becoming and Change take centre stage in the next five papers. The book ends with two excursions into relatively uncharted territory: a consideration of the status of Kaluza-Klein theory, and an investigation of possible relations between the nature of spacetime and condensed matter physics, respectively. - Space and time in present-day physics and philosophy - Relatively low level of technicality, easily accessible - Introduction from scratch of the debates surrounding time - Broad spectrum of approaches, coherently represented

The Map and the Territory

Author : Shyam Wuppuluri
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319724789
Total Pages : 638 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (197 download)

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Book Synopsis The Map and the Territory by : Shyam Wuppuluri

Download or read book The Map and the Territory written by Shyam Wuppuluri and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 638 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents essays by pioneering thinkers including Tyler Burge, Gregory Chaitin, Daniel Dennett, Barry Mazur, Nicholas Humphrey, John Searle and Ian Stewart. Together they illuminate the Map/Territory Distinction that underlies at the foundation of the scientific method, thought and the very reality itself. It is imperative to distinguish Map from the Territory while analyzing any subject but we often mistake map for the territory. Meaning for the Reference. Computational tool for what it computes. Representations are handy and tempting that we often end up committing the category error of over-marrying the representation with what is represented, so much so that the distinction between the former and the latter is lost. This error that has its roots in the pedagogy often generates a plethora of paradoxes/confusions which hinder the proper understanding of the subject. What are wave functions? Fields? Forces? Numbers? Sets? Classes? Operators? Functions? Alphabets and Sentences? Are they a part of our map (theory/representation)? Or do they actually belong to the territory (Reality)? Researcher, like a cartographer, clothes (or creates?) the reality by stitching multitudes of maps that simultaneously co-exist. A simple apple, for example, can be analyzed from several viewpoints beginning with evolution and biology, all the way down its microscopic quantum mechanical components. Is there a reality (or a real apple) out there apart from these maps? How do these various maps interact/intermingle with each other to produce a coherent reality that we interact with? Or do they not? Does our brain uses its own internal maps to facilitate “physicist/mathematician” in us to construct the maps about the external territories in turn? If so, what is the nature of these internal maps? Are there meta-maps? Evolution definitely fences our perception and thereby our ability to construct maps, revealing to us only those aspects beneficial for our survival. But the question is, to what extent? Is there a way out of the metaphorical Platonic cave erected around us by the nature? While “Map is not the territory” as Alfred Korzybski remarked, join us in this journey to know more, while we inquire on the nature and the reality of the maps which try to map the reality out there. The book also includes a foreword by Sir Roger Penrose and an afterword by Dagfinn Follesdal.

Information & Experimental Knowledge

Author : James Mattingly
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022680478X
Total Pages : 373 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (268 download)

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Book Synopsis Information & Experimental Knowledge by : James Mattingly

Download or read book Information & Experimental Knowledge written by James Mattingly and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-12-13 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ambitious new model of experimentation that will reorient our understanding of the key features of experimental practice. What is experimental knowledge, and how do we get it? While there is general agreement that experiment is a crucial source of scientific knowledge, how experiment generates that knowledge is far more contentious. In this book, philosopher of science James Mattingly explains how experiments function. Specifically, he discusses what it is about experimental practice that transforms observations of what may be very localized, particular, isolated systems into what may be global, general, integrated empirical knowledge. Mattingly argues that the purpose of experimentation is the same as the purpose of any other knowledge-generating enterprise—to change the state of information of the knower. This trivial-seeming point has a non-trivial consequence: to understand a knowledge-generating enterprise, we should follow the flow of information. Therefore, the account of experimental knowledge Mattingly provides is based on understanding how information flows in experiments: what facilitates that flow, what hinders it, and what characteristics allow it to flow from system to system, into the heads of researchers, and finally into our store of scientific knowledge.

Discrete or Continuous?

Author : Amit Hagar
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107062802
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Discrete or Continuous? by : Amit Hagar

Download or read book Discrete or Continuous? written by Amit Hagar and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-05 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Novel conceptual analysis, fresh historical perspectives, and concrete physical examples illuminate one of the most thought-provoking topics in physics.

Hawking Radiation: From Astrophysical Black Holes To Analogous Systems In Lab

Author : Francesco D Belgiorno
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814508551
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (145 download)

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Book Synopsis Hawking Radiation: From Astrophysical Black Holes To Analogous Systems In Lab by : Francesco D Belgiorno

Download or read book Hawking Radiation: From Astrophysical Black Holes To Analogous Systems In Lab written by Francesco D Belgiorno and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2018-07-09 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The book can be a good introduction to research in the area of black hole physics. Also, it can serve as a source book for the established researcher in the field. The book contains an extensive bibliography the contents of which are amply cited throughout the text. The book well documents the historical development of the theory of Hawking radiation and related topics. The book is a worthwhile addition to the physics literature on a topic of considerable interest.'zbMATHThe aim of this book is to provide the reader with a guide to Hawking radiation through a dual approach to the problem. After an introductory chapter containing some basic knowledge about black holes and quantum field theory in curved spacetime, the first part of the book consists in a survey of methods for deriving and studying Hawking radiation from astrophysical black holes, from the original calculation by S W Hawking to the most recent contributions involving tunneling and gravitational anomalies. In the second part, we introduce analogue gravity, and we focus our attention to dielectric black hole systems, to which the studies of the present authors are devoted. The mutual interchange of knowledge between the aforementioned parts is addressed to render a more comprehensive picture of this very fascinating quantum phenomenon associated with black holes.

Quantum Gravity

Author : Claus Kiefer
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199585202
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis Quantum Gravity by : Claus Kiefer

Download or read book Quantum Gravity written by Claus Kiefer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-05 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum theory and Einstein's theory of relativity are at the centre of modern theoretical physics, yet, the consistent unification of both theories is still elusive. This book offers an up-to-date introduction into the attempts to construct a unified theory of "quantum gravity".

Superradiance

Author : Richard Brito
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030466221
Total Pages : 307 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Superradiance by : Richard Brito

Download or read book Superradiance written by Richard Brito and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-21 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on one mechanism in black hole physics which has proven to be universal, multifaceted and with a rich phenomenology: rotational superradiance. This is an energy extraction process, whereby black holes can deposit their rotational energy in their surroundings, leading to Penrose processes, black-hole bombs, and even Hawking radiation. Black holes are key players in star formation mechanisms and as engines to some of the most violent events in our universe. Their simplicity and compactness make them perfect laboratories, ideally suited to probe new fields or modifications to the theory of gravity. Thus, black holes can also be used to probe some of the most important open problems in physics, including the nature of dark matter or the strong CP problem in particle physics. This monograph is directed to researchers and graduate students and provides a unified view of the subject, covering the theoretical machinery, experimental efforts in the laboratory, and astrophysics searches. It is focused on recent developments and works out a number of novel examples and applications, ranging from fundamental physics to astrophysics. Non-specialists with a scientific background should also find this text a valuable resource for understanding the critical issues of contemporary research in black-hole physics. This second edition stresses the role of ergoregions in superradiance, and completes its catalogue of energy-extraction processes. It presents a unified description of instabilities of spinning black holes in the presence of massive fields. Finally, it covers the first experimental observation of superradiance, and reviews the state-of-the-art in the searches for new light fields in the universe using superradiance as a mechanism.

State Of The Quantum Vacuum, The: Casimir Physics In The 2020's

Author : Kimball A Milton
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9811266093
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (112 download)

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Book Synopsis State Of The Quantum Vacuum, The: Casimir Physics In The 2020's by : Kimball A Milton

Download or read book State Of The Quantum Vacuum, The: Casimir Physics In The 2020's written by Kimball A Milton and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2022-11-22 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This review volume is intended to survey the field of quantum fluctuational phenomena induced by material bodies, which is commonly encompassed under the name of Casimir physics. H B G Casimir first discovered that zero-point fluctuations in the electromagnetic field caused an attractive force between closely separated metallic plates. Now — 75 years later — the field is burgeoning, with numerous experimental verifications and applications to practical devices starting to emerge.In this book, new ideas about Casimir physics are brought to bear on such diverse subjects as cosmology, where the Casimir energy may explain the dark energy that causes the cosmic repulsion, and nonstatic regimes, such as Casimir or quantum friction. Unsolved problems, including divergences in Casimir self-energies, the meaning of local energy densities in inhomogeneous backgrounds, and discrepancies between theory and experiment, are treated in some detail. It is hoped that this collection of papers will serve as an introduction to the field for newcomers to the subject, and that it will inspire a new burst of research into the nature of the quantum vacuum.

Differential Equations, Mathematical Physics, and Applications: Selim Grigorievich Krein Centennial

Author : Peter Kuchment
Publisher : American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN 13 : 147043783X
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Differential Equations, Mathematical Physics, and Applications: Selim Grigorievich Krein Centennial by : Peter Kuchment

Download or read book Differential Equations, Mathematical Physics, and Applications: Selim Grigorievich Krein Centennial written by Peter Kuchment and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2019-07-22 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second of two volumes dedicated to the centennial of the distinguished mathematician Selim Grigorievich Krein. The companion volume is Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 733. Krein was a major contributor to functional analysis, operator theory, partial differential equations, fluid dynamics, and other areas, and the author of several influential monographs in these areas. He was a prolific teacher, graduating 83 Ph.D. students. Krein also created and ran, for many years, the annual Voronezh Winter Mathematical Schools, which significantly influenced mathematical life in the former Soviet Union. The articles contained in this volume are written by prominent mathematicians, former students and colleagues of Selim Krein, as well as lecturers and participants of Voronezh Winter Schools. They are devoted to a variety of contemporary problems in ordinary and partial differential equations, fluid dynamics, and various applications.

The Lonely Mind of God

Author : Sherman O'Brien
Publisher : Phrase Bound Publications
ISBN 13 : 0996307567
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (963 download)

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Book Synopsis The Lonely Mind of God by : Sherman O'Brien

Download or read book The Lonely Mind of God written by Sherman O'Brien and published by Phrase Bound Publications. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current students of philosophy or armchair philosophers... Want the answer to the Primordial Existential Question: Why is there something rather than nothing? While history has produced no shortage of attempted answers, clearly none is the answer. Now comes the unique perspective of acosmism to provide a complete and plausible answer. After a lifetime of reflection, acosmist Sherman O'Brien offers this analysis of the issues and a thoughtful, reasoned answer to philosophy's most vexing question. The acosmic answer requires no faith whatsoever, either in supernatural or unexplained causes; in fact, it discourages it. Acosmism rejects both traditional religion and philosophically neglectful science. As a metaphysical system, it is based on an epistemological insight, with implications for immortality, determinism, ethics, and ultimate purpose. Reasoned wholly from the ground up, its conclusion is the very meaning of existence. The solution to the Omniscience Riddle becomes the key to understanding how the question is best stated and understood. This book represents one person's effort to make sense of what is true and what only seems to be so. Why is there something rather than nothing? What is your potential role in the entirety of experience? This foray into acosmism offers a path to the genuine understanding of both existence and reality. Note: the main text constitutes roughly two-thirds of the total pages, the remainder being mostly endnotes.

The Foundations of Chaos Revisited: From Poincaré to Recent Advancements

Author : Christos Skiadas
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319297015
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis The Foundations of Chaos Revisited: From Poincaré to Recent Advancements by : Christos Skiadas

Download or read book The Foundations of Chaos Revisited: From Poincaré to Recent Advancements written by Christos Skiadas and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from a number of pioneering researchers in the field, this collection is aimed not only at researchers and scientists in nonlinear dynamics but also at a broader audience interested in understanding and exploring how modern chaos theory has developed since the days of Poincaré. This book was motivated by and is an outcome of the CHAOS 2015 meeting held at the Henri Poincaré Institute in Paris, which provided a perfect opportunity to gain inspiration and discuss new perspectives on the history, development and modern aspects of chaos theory. Henri Poincaré is remembered as a great mind in mathematics, physics and astronomy. His works, well beyond their rigorous mathematical and analytical style, are known for their deep insights into science and research in general, and the philosophy of science in particular. The Poincaré conjecture (only proved in 2006) along with his work on the three-body problem are considered to be the foundation of modern chaos theory.

Gravity: Where Do We Stand?

Author : Roberto Peron
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319202243
Total Pages : 490 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis Gravity: Where Do We Stand? by : Roberto Peron

Download or read book Gravity: Where Do We Stand? written by Roberto Peron and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-12-14 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an overview of the current understanding of gravitation, with a focus on the current efforts to test its theory, especially general relativity. It shows how the quest for a deeper theory, which would possibly incorporate gravity in the quantum realm, is more than ever an open field. The majority of the contributions deals with the manifold facets of “experimental gravitation”, but the book goes beyond this and covers a broad range of subjects from the foundations of gravitational theories to astrophysics and cosmology. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with foundations and Solar System tests. An introductory pedagogical chapter reviews first Newtonian gravitational theory, special relativity, the equivalence principle and the basics of general relativity. Then it focuses on approximation methods, mainly the post-Newtonian formalism and the relaxed Einstein equations, with a discussion on how they are used in treating experimental tests and in the problem of generation and detection of gravitational waves. Following this is a set of chapters describing the most recent experiments, techniques and observations on the testing of gravity theories in the laboratory, around the Earth and in the Solar System. The second part is dedicated to astrophysical topics deeply linked with the study of gravitation, namely binary pulsars and the perspective of direct detection of gravitational waves. These cases are paradigmatic in that the gravitational signals act at the same time as messengers helping us to understand the properties of important and wide classes of astrophysical objects. The third part explores the many open issues in current knowledge of gravitation machinery, especially related to astrophysical and cosmological problems and the way possible solutions to them impact the quest for a quantum theory of gravitation and unified theory. Included is a selection of the many possible paths, giving a hint to the subtleties one is called upon. Whenever possible, a close link to observational constraints and possible experimental tests is provided. In selecting the topics of the various contributions, particular care has been devoted to ensure their fit in a coherent representation of our understanding of gravitational phenomena. The book is aimed at graduate level students and will form a valuable reference for those working in the field.