Fall Semester (2003) Graduate Relativity

Physics 387M, Graduate Relativity
Unique Number 59510

T Th 8:00 - 9:30
RLM 5.112
Text: Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler- Gravitation (Freeman, San Francisco 1973)

Instructor:   Richard Matzner           Stand-in: Scott Hawley
                                RLM 9.224                       RLM 9.206
                                471 5062                                        471 5426
        richard@helmholtz.ph.utexas.edu                 shawley@physics.utexas.edu
Office Hours: TTh 10-11AM, 12:45-1:30           (TBA)

Physics 387M, the first semester of the Graduate Relativity course, will be offered 
in the Fall semester 2003.

Syllabus

-Brief Review of Special Relativity (August 28- September 2; MTW Ch 2, 3)
-The Equivalence Principle (Sept 4- 9; MTW Ch. 7)
-General Coordinate Systems (Sept 11 - 16; MTW Ch. 8 notice Box 8.4,
                                      especially "coordinate bases")
-Curvature (Sept 18- 23; MTW Ch. 11, (box 14.2),(section 13.5), 14 (section 14.2, 14.4)
-The Einstein Equations (Sept 25 - 30; perfect fluids, Ch. 17, 23)
-Particular Spacetimes
    -gravitational waves (Oct 2 - 9; section 35.9, Ch. 18, Ch 35, 36)
    -cosmology (Oct 14 - 23)
    -black holes (Oct 28 -Nov 4)
-Connections to Astrophysics (Nov 6- 25)
-Special Topics (Dec 2-4)

The syllabus will be updated for specificity during the semester. It 
will be available at a Web site:

http://wwwrel.ph.utexas.edu/Public/Members/phys_387M


This is an advanced Physics course. Grading will be based on homework, a
paper (topic selected in consultation between instructor and student), 
and a written final exam.

Homework will be assigned every week and will be due one week later
(the first homework will be assigned  on Tuesday September 2).

Homework:       20%
Paper:          40%
Final:          40%