The Theory of General Relativity Space and time of the course:
De Sitter room, spring 2006. This course was taught in 2006 and
2008 by Yuri Levin. It will now be given by others. Einstein's
Theory of General Relativity encompasses Newton's theory of
gravitation for weak fields, but as for Special Relativity it
gives rise to a dramatic revision of our understanding of space
and time. Next to the formulation of the theory, also
applications important for (astro-)physical research will be
discussed in some detail. Topics to be covered will include the
principle of equivalence, the field equations, the experimental
tests of the theory using the advance of the perihelion of
Mercury, bending of light and the more recent verification on
the basis gravitational radiation from binary pulsar systems. Of
course we will also entertain you with black holes and
cosmological consequence of the theory. Typically the last
lecture will give a glossary of the more modern developments,
like Required reading: The course will foll