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Schedule.
- Class will meet on Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25–2:15 p.m. in 200 LOV. Depending on
students’ availability, a possibility exists to have longer meetings on Monday and Wednesday only, at
1:25 p.m.
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Prerequisites.
- Graduate standing or permission by the instructor.
No Physics prerequisites or background are expected.
Mathematics prerequisites are a familiarity multi-variable calculus and more generally enough
mathematical maturity to follow proofs. Having been exposed to some differential geometry is useful.
However, the first part will be dedicated to cover some relatively more advanced DG to suit the course’s
purpose.
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Text.
- There is not “official textbook.” The following are the main sources:
Additional sources are:
- N. Straumann, General Relativity, with applications to Astrophysics, Springer, 2004.
- R. Wald, General Relativity, Chicago, 1984.
- N. M. J. Woodhouse, General Relativity, Springer, 2007.
- C. Misner, K. Thorne, and J. A. Wheeler, Gravitation, Freeman, 1973.
Differential Geometry is adequately covered in most of the above quoted references. Specific references,
covering manifolds and their geometry from a modern point of view, are:
- I. M. Singer and J. A. Thorpe, Lecture Notes on Elementary Topology and Geometry, Springer,
1976.
- S. Helgason, Differential Geometry, Lie Groups, and Symmetric Spaces, American Mathematical
Society, 2001.
- J. Jost, Riemannian Geometry and Geometric Analysis, Springer, 1995.
- B. O’Neill, Semi-Riemannian Geometry with Applications to Relativity, Academic Press, 1983
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Course Content.
- The topics to be covered are roughly as follows:
- Differential Geometry
- Basics about GR and the Einstein equation.
- Discussion of solutions of the equations, in particular exact solutions. Black holes and expanding
universes, the Big Bang singularity.
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HOMEWORK
- Homework will not be collected. Some problems may be assigned in due course for in-class
presentation or individual work to satisfy the grading requirements (see below).
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EXAMS
- There will be no exams.
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Attendance.
- Students are expected to attend class regularly. A student absent from class bears the full
responsibility for all subject matter and information discussed in class. (See however below for more details
about our global University Attendance Policy.)
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GRADING
- Your grade will be based on attendance and at least one in-class presentation toward
the end of the course. Presentations will be based on a topic agreed upon in advance with the
instructor.
Attendance determines the grade as follows: assuming the presentation requirements are met, the grade is
determined according to the following table:
| Absences | 0-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | > 20 |
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| Grade | A | B | C | D | F |
Excuses will be considered if the student presents sufficient and verifiable documentation that absences are
beyond the student’s control (for example, health, or travel required by graduate work). In that case, a
make-up project can be used to raise the grade to up a full grade point.
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University Attendance Policy.
- Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other
documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holidays, and official University activities.
These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid
excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious
illness.
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Academic Honor Policy.
- The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s
expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged
violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members
throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living
up to their pledge to “...be honest and truthful and ...[to] strive for personal and institutional
integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at
http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.)
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Americans With Disabilities Act.
- Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation
should:
- register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and
- bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should
be done during the first week of class.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information
about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the: Student Disability Resource
Center
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdr@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/
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Syllabus Change Policy.
- "Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation
(grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance
notice.”