What is the Best Book to Learn Topology for General Relativity?

In summary: The best book for introduction to topology is "Wheelers Gravitation" by George Gamelin. It is detailed, but it was published in 1974, so it may not be the latest book on the topics.
  • #1
world line
8
0
Hello
i studied Sadri Hassani az mathematical physics book.
if i want to learn topology (( for general relativity )) what it the best book for introduction ?
 
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  • #3
mathematicians will beat me but I like Nakahara "Geometry, topology and physics"; it has something to say about spacetime (differential) topology, Riemannian & Kähler manifolds, but in addition it focusses on gauge theories and fibre bundles
 
  • #4
Most purely topology books will spend a lot of time being useless to GR. The intro books cover mostly just general topology. I like Gamelin and Greene and it is pretty cheap. It starts with metric spaces and finishes with a bit of algebraic topo. Kasriel's Undergraduate Topology gets good reviews, but I didn't really like it. The best is Munkres, but it is expensive and hard to get into unless you are in a class or very dedicated to topology.

You may want to skip general topology unless you want to learn it in general for fun. I took a general topology (point-set topology) class that spent the last two weeks with an intro to algebraic topology. I am glad I took the class, but most topo of interest to physics is algebraic, and most topology books spend a lot of time on general topology.

So, my opinion, is Gamelin and Greene Intro to Topology for an inexpensive reference for general topology ideas without as much detail as an Analyst would want, and a physics book with more algebraic topology.
 
  • #5
world line said:
Hello
i studied Sadri Hassani az mathematical physics book.

Which book, Mathematical Methods for Students of Physics and Related Fields, or Mathematical Physics: A Modern Introduction to Its Foundations?
world line said:
if i want to learn topology (( for general relativity )) what it the best book for introduction ?

Do you want to learn topology because: 1) you think that some knowledge of topology is necessary prior to learning general relativity; or 2) you have seen topological arguments used is general relativity, for example, in Hawking and Ellis; or 3) of some other reason?
 

1. What is topology?

Topology is a branch of mathematics that studies the properties of geometric objects that remain unchanged under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, and bending. It is often described as the study of "rubber sheet geometry."

2. What are the main areas of topology?

The main areas of topology include point-set topology, algebraic topology, and differential topology. Point-set topology deals with the most general properties of topological spaces, while algebraic topology studies topological spaces using algebraic tools. Differential topology focuses on differentiable manifolds and their properties.

3. What are some applications of topology?

Topology has many applications in various fields, including physics, computer science, and biology. In physics, topology is used to study the properties of space-time and the behavior of particles. In computer science, it is used in data analysis and machine learning. In biology, topology is used to study the shape and structure of biological molecules.

4. How is topology related to geometry?

Topology and geometry are closely related, but they differ in their focus. Geometry studies the properties of shapes that remain unchanged under rigid transformations, such as translations and rotations. In contrast, topology studies the properties of shapes that remain unchanged under continuous deformations.

5. What are some key concepts in topology?

Some key concepts in topology include topological spaces, continuous functions, homeomorphisms, and topological invariants. Topological spaces are sets with a collection of open sets that satisfy certain axioms. Continuous functions are functions that preserve the topological structure of a space. Homeomorphisms are bijective continuous functions with a continuous inverse. Topological invariants are properties of topological spaces that do not change under homeomorphisms.

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