Relativity Math of GR Exercises from Spacetime & Geometry by Sean Carroll

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on finding practice problems related to the mathematical concepts of General Relativity (GR) as presented in Sean Carroll's book, "Spacetime and Geometry," specifically in Chapters 2 (Manifolds) and 3 (Curvature). Participants express a need for exercises that emphasize the mathematical techniques used in GR, rather than purely physical applications. Recommendations include resources such as "A Visual Introduction to Differential Forms and Calculus on Manifolds" and a link to a collection of problem sets on General Relativity. The conversation highlights the scarcity of relevant exercises tailored for physicists.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of General Relativity concepts, particularly Manifolds and Curvature.
  • Familiarity with differential forms and calculus on manifolds.
  • Knowledge of coordinate transformations and tangent spaces.
  • Basic understanding of mathematical problem-solving techniques in physics.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore "A Visual Introduction to Differential Forms and Calculus on Manifolds" for comprehensive examples and exercises.
  • Review the problem sets available at the provided Academia.edu link for additional practice.
  • Investigate other GR textbooks that focus on mathematical exercises relevant to physicists.
  • Research Lie series and their applications in solving differential equations for deeper mathematical insight.
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, graduate students in theoretical physics, and educators seeking to enhance their understanding of the mathematical foundations of General Relativity through practical exercises.

shinobi20
Messages
277
Reaction score
20
I have been reading the book Spacetime and Geometry by Sean Carroll, especially Ch. 2 Manifolds and Ch. 3 Curvature. I'm just wondering are there any lecture notes or books with lots of practice problems (with solutions or at least answers the better) that is suitable for physicist?

To give an example, in section 2.3, the book talks about how the tangent space is defined and how tangent vectors are constructed; exercises might be of the form, given a coordinate transformation find this and that, or show that this and that are orthogonal, etc. I'm seeking for exercises that allows for practice using these concepts that are relevant to physicist. Some people might recommend just plain pure math references where you need to prove this and that, but that is not what I'm looking for.

The exercises should focus more on the "math used in GR" (but still tailored for physicist) as opposed to the physics of GR like, find the gravitational time dilation of..., compute the variation of the lagrangian and find the EOM, etc.

So in short, exercises that are relevant to Ch. 2 Manifolds and Ch. 3 Curvature of the book. I already know many GR resources like Zee, Nightingale, Schutz, Ohanian, Rindler, Blau, Tong, etc. but their exercises are either too few or have no immediate relevance to the topics mentioned above. I find that exercises related to the math of GR to be not abundant, at least in the context of GR books that I know of.
 
  • Like
Likes Delta2
Physics news on Phys.org
  • Like
Likes PhDeezNutz, vanhees71, Demystifier and 1 other person
CJ2116 said:
You might want to look at A Visual Introduction to Differential Forms and Calculus on Manifolds. He covers in whole chapters what Carroll only discusses in a few paragraphs (i.e. pushfowards/pullbacks, deriving the covariant form of Maxwell's Equations etc.) So many examples as well. This is one of my favorite math books!
Very nice book, seems very promising! Didn't know there exist a book.
 
Also, just wanted to ask if anybody knows of any notes that follow Carroll's book or at least expounds on his book? Specifically, Ch. 2 Manifolds and Ch. 3 Curvature. The book recommended by @CJ2116 is a very nice alternative look though.
 
  • #10
  • Like
Likes Demystifier
  • #11
martinbn said:
What is Lie series?
After some web-searching it seems that Lie series are exponentials of operators.
 
  • Like
Likes Demystifier
  • #12
martinbn said:
What is Lie series?
It's just a way to solve differential equations, essentially, it's just saying, given a differential equation, even simple ones like ##\frac{du}{dt} = -u^2, u_0 = 1## can be solved by using an exponential+series i.e ##u(t) = e^{-tu^2 \frac{d}{du}}u|_{u_0}##

In order to get the solution ##u(t) = \frac{1}{1+t}## you must expand out the exponential using a series.

I think, technically, it is using something with vector fields (hence why we have ##-u^2 \frac{d}{du}## in the exponential), but I wouldn't know the pure math details as I don't have the book near me, nor do I think it goes into that much detail, nor have I applied this technique that often to need to know the more grainy details.

EDIT: Here is a paper for those who want more details: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022247X8490057X
 
  • Like
Likes vanhees71 and Demystifier

Similar threads

  • Poll Poll
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
13K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
8
Views
6K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
5K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
10K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
4K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Replies
4
Views
4K