|
Lovelock's Theorem
Lovelock's theorem of general relativity says that from a local gravitational action which contains only second derivatives of the four-dimensional spacetime metric, then the only possible equations of motion are the Einstein field equations. The theorem was described by British physicist David Lovelock in 1971. Statement In four dimensional spacetime, any tensor A^ whose components are functions of the metric tensor g^ and its first and second derivatives (but linear in the second derivatives of g^), and also symmetric and divergence-free, is necessarily of the form :A^=a G^+b g^ where a and b are constant numbers and G^ is the Einstein tensor. The only possible second-order Euler–Lagrange expression obtainable in a four-dimensional space from a scalar density of the form \mathcal=\mathcal(g_) is E^ = \alpha \sqrt \left ^ - \frac g^ R \right+ \lambda \sqrt g^ Consequences Lovelock's theorem means that if we want to modify the Einstein field equations, then we have five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the ' is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever matter and radiation are present. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second order partial differential equations. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes classical gravity, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass distributions. Some predictions of general relativity, however, are beyond Newton's law of universal gravitat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Tensor (general Relativity)
In general relativity, the metric tensor (in this context often abbreviated to simply the metric) is the fundamental object of study. It may loosely be thought of as a generalization of the gravitational potential of Newtonian gravitation. The metric captures all the geometric and causal structure of spacetime, being used to define notions such as time, distance, volume, curvature, angle, and separation of the future and the past. Notation and conventions Throughout this article we work with a metric signature that is mostly positive (); see sign convention. The gravitation constant G will be kept explicit. This article employs the Einstein summation convention, where repeated indices are automatically summed over. Definition Mathematically, spacetime is represented by a four-dimensional differentiable manifold M and the metric tensor is given as a covariant, second-degree, symmetric tensor on M, conventionally denoted by g. Moreover, the metric is required to be nondegenera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein Field Equations
In the general theory of relativity, the Einstein field equations (EFE; also known as Einstein's equations) relate the geometry of spacetime to the distribution of matter within it. The equations were published by Einstein in 1915 in the form of a tensor equation which related the local ' (expressed by the Einstein tensor) with the local energy, momentum and stress within that spacetime (expressed by the stress–energy tensor). Analogously to the way that electromagnetic fields are related to the distribution of charges and currents via Maxwell's equations, the EFE relate the spacetime geometry to the distribution of mass–energy, momentum and stress, that is, they determine the metric tensor of spacetime for a given arrangement of stress–energy–momentum in the spacetime. The relationship between the metric tensor and the Einstein tensor allows the EFE to be written as a set of nonlinear partial differential equations when used in this way. The solutions of the EFE are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Lovelock
David Lovelock (born 1938) is a British theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is known for Lovelock theory of gravity and the Lovelock's theorem Lovelock's theorem of general relativity says that from a local gravitational action which contains only second derivatives of the four-dimensional spacetime metric, then the only possible equations of motion are the Einstein field equations. T .... Notes Books * External links * David LovelockPersonal Home Page 1938 births British mathematicians British relativity theorists Living people {{UK-physicist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein Tensor
In differential geometry, the Einstein tensor (named after Albert Einstein; also known as the trace-reversed Ricci tensor) is used to express the curvature of a pseudo-Riemannian manifold. In general relativity, it occurs in the Einstein field equations for gravitation that describe spacetime curvature in a manner that is consistent with conservation of energy and momentum. Definition The Einstein tensor \mathbf is a tensor of order 2 defined over pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. In index-free notation it is defined as \mathbf=\mathbf-\frac\mathbfR, where \mathbf is the Ricci tensor, \mathbf is the metric tensor and R is the scalar curvature, which is computed as the trace of the Ricci Tensor R_ by R = g^R_ = R_\mu^\mu. In component form, the previous equation reads as G_ = R_ - g_R . The Einstein tensor is symmetric G_ = G_ and, like the on shell stress–energy tensor, and has zero divergence: \nabla_\mu G^ = 0\,. Explicit form The Ricci tensor depends only on the metric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lovelock Theory Of Gravity
In theoretical physics, Lovelock's theory of gravity (often referred to as Lovelock gravity) is a generalization of Einstein's theory of general relativity introduced by David Lovelock in 1971. It is the most general metric theory of gravity yielding conserved second order equations of motion in an arbitrary number of spacetime dimensions ''D''. In this sense, Lovelock's theory is the natural generalization of Einstein's general relativity to higher dimensions. In three and four dimensions (''D'' = 3, 4), Lovelock's theory coincides with Einstein's theory, but in higher dimensions the theories are different. In fact, for ''D'' > 4 Einstein gravity can be thought of as a particular case of Lovelock gravity since the Einstein–Hilbert action is one of several terms that constitute the Lovelock action. Lagrangian density The Lagrangian of the theory is given by a sum of dimensionally extended Euler densities, and it can be written as follows : \mathcal=\sqrt\ \sum\limits_^\alpha _ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vermeil's Theorem
In differential geometry, Vermeil's theorem essentially states that the scalar curvature is the only (non-trivial) absolute invariant among those of prescribed type suitable for Albert Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. The theorem was proved by the German mathematician Hermann Vermeil in 1917. Standard version of the theorem The theorem states that the Ricci scalar RLet us recall that Ricci scalar R is linear in the second derivatives of the metric tensor g_, quadratic in the first derivatives and contains the inverse matrix g^, which is a rational function of the components g_. is the only scalar invariant (or absolute invariant) linear in the second derivatives of the metric tensor g_. See also *Scalar curvature *Differential invariant *Einstein–Hilbert action *Lovelock's theorem Lovelock's theorem of general relativity says that from a local gravitational action which contains only second derivatives of the four-dimensional spacetime metric, then the only poss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the ' is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever matter and radiation are present. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second order partial differential equations. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes classical gravity, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass distributions. Some predictions of general relativity, however, are beyond Newton's law of universal gravitat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
