Colliding plane waves in general relativity
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Colliding plane waves in general relativity
(Oxford mathematical monographs)
Oxford University Press, 1991
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
For many years after Einstein proposed his general theory of relativity, few exact solutions to the field equations were known. In particular, the theory of colliding plane wave space-times was thought to produce curvature singularities. In recent years, however, the rich structure of such colliding waves has been explored. This volume presents a survey of the current research in this topic, intended for graduate students and research workers involved with general relativity. The first eight chapters present the background to the subject, introduce the field equations and include a discussion of some qualitative aspects of their solution. An account is included of the Khan-Penrose solution since it exhibits the general character of most colliding plane wave solutions. The latter half of the book is devoted to considering further exact solutions, studying the collision and interaction of electromagnetic waves and summarizing more advanced topics of current research.
Table of Contents
- Elements of general relativity
- colliding impulsive gravitational waves
- plane waves
- geometrical considerations
- the field equations
- boundary conditions
- singularity structure
- the Szekeres class of vacuum solutions
- other vacuum solutions with aligned polarization
- Ernst's equation for colliding gravitational waves
- solution generating techniques
- vacuum solutions with non-aligned polarization
- the initial value problem
- colliding electromagnetic waves: the Bell-Szekeres solution
- Ernst's equations for colliding electromagnetic waves
- colliding electromagnetic waves - exact solutions
- colliding electromagnetic waves - diagonal solutions
- electromagnetic waves colliding with gravitational waves
- other sources
- related results
- conclusions and prospects. Appendix: Co-ordinate systems.
by "Nielsen BookData"