Archive | 2021
Covariant Physics
Abstract
This book is an introduction to the modern methods of the general theory of relativity, tensor calculus, space time geometry, the classical theory of fields, and a variety of theoretical physics oriented topics rarely discussed at the level of the intended reader (mid-college physics major). It does so from the point of view of the so-called principle of covariance; a symmetry that underlies most of physics, including such familiar branches as Newtonian mechanics and electricity and magnetism. The book is written from a minimalist perspective, providing the reader with only the most basic of notions; just enough to be able to read, and hopefully comprehend, modern research papers on these subjects. In addition, it provides a (hopefully short) preparation for the student to be able to conduct research in a variety of topics in theoretical physics; with particular emphasis on physics in curved spacetime backgrounds. The hope is that students with a minimal mathematical background in calculus and only some introductory courses in physics may be able to study this book and benefit from it.