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Alternatives To General Relativity
Alternatives to general relativity are physical theories that attempt to describe the phenomenon of gravitation in competition with Einstein's theory of general relativity. There have been many different attempts at constructing an ideal theory of gravity. These attempts can be split into four broad categories based on their scope: # Classical theories of gravity, which do not involve quantum mechanics or force unification. # Theories using the principles of quantum mechanics resulting in quantized gravity. # Theories which attempt to explain gravity and other forces at the same time; these are known as classical unified field theories. # Theories which attempt to both put gravity in quantum mechanical terms and unify forces; these are called theories of everything. None of these alternatives to general relativity have gained wide acceptance. General relativity has withstood many tests over a large range of mass and size scales. When applied to interpret astronomical observat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical Theory
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay between experimental studies and theory. In some cases, theoretical physics adheres to standards of mathematical rigour while giving little weight to experiments and observations.There is some debate as to whether or not theoretical physics uses mathematics to build intuition and illustrativeness to extract physical insight (especially when normal experience fails), rather than as a tool in formalizing theories. This links to the question of it using mathematics in a less formally rigorous, and more intuitive or heuristic way than, say, mathematical physics. For example, while developing special relativity, Albert Einstein was concerned wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravitational Constant
The gravitational constant is an empirical physical constant involved in the calculation of gravitational effects in Sir Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation and in Albert Einstein's general relativity, theory of general relativity. It is also known as the universal gravitational constant, the Newtonian constant of gravitation, or the Cavendish gravitational constant, denoted by the capital letter . In Newton's law, it is the proportionality constant connecting the gravitational force between two bodies with the product of their masses and the inverse-square law, inverse square of their distance. In the Einstein field equations, it quantifies the relation between the geometry of spacetime and the energy–momentum tensor (also referred to as the stress–energy tensor). The measured value of the constant is known with some certainty to four significant digits. In SI units, its value is approximately The modern notation of Newton's law involving was introduced i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variational Principle
A variational principle is a mathematical procedure that renders a physical problem solvable by the calculus of variations, which concerns finding functions that optimize the values of quantities that depend on those functions. For example, the problem of determining the shape of a hanging chain suspended at both ends—a catenary—can be solved using variational calculus, and in this case, the variational principle is the following: The solution is a function that minimizes the gravitational potential energy of the chain. History Physics The history of the variational principle in classical mechanics started with Maupertuis's principle in the 18th century. Math Felix Klein's 1872 Erlangen program attempted to identify invariants under a group of transformations. Examples In mathematics * Ekeland's variational principle in mathematical optimization * The finite element method * The variation principle relating topological entropy and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. In physics * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principle Of Least Action
Action principles lie at the heart of fundamental physics, from classical mechanics through quantum mechanics, particle physics, and general relativity. Action principles start with an energy function called a Lagrangian describing the physical system. The accumulated value of this energy function between two states of the system is called the action. Action principles apply the calculus of variation to the action. The action depends on the energy function, and the energy function depends on the position, motion, and interactions in the system: variation of the action allows the derivation of the equations of motion without vectors or forces. Several distinct action principles differ in the constraints on their initial and final conditions. The names of action principles have evolved over time and differ in details of the endpoints of the paths and the nature of the variation. Quantum action principles generalize and justify the older classical principles by showing they are a di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action (physics)
In physics, action is a scalar quantity that describes how the balance of kinetic versus potential energy of a physical system changes with trajectory. Action is significant because it is an input to the principle of stationary action, an approach to classical mechanics that is simpler for multiple objects. Action and the variational principle are used in Feynman's formulation of quantum mechanics and in general relativity. For systems with small values of action close to the Planck constant, quantum effects are significant. In the simple case of a single particle moving with a constant velocity (thereby undergoing uniform linear motion), the action is the momentum of the particle times the distance it moves, added up along its path; equivalently, action is the difference between the particle's kinetic energy and its potential energy, times the duration for which it has that amount of energy. More formally, action is a mathematical functional which takes the trajectory ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricci Curvature
In differential geometry, the Ricci curvature tensor, named after Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, is a geometric object which is determined by a choice of Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian metric on a manifold. It can be considered, broadly, as a measure of the degree to which the geometry of a given metric tensor differs locally from that of ordinary Euclidean space or pseudo-Euclidean space. The Ricci tensor can be characterized by measurement of how a shape is deformed as one moves along geodesics in the space. In general relativity, which involves the pseudo-Riemannian setting, this is reflected by the presence of the Ricci tensor in the Raychaudhuri equation. Partly for this reason, the Einstein field equations propose that spacetime can be described by a pseudo-Riemannian metric, with a strikingly simple relationship between the Ricci tensor and the matter content of the universe. Like the metric tensor, the Ricci tensor assigns to each tangent space of the manifold a symmetric bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein–Hilbert Action
The Einstein–Hilbert action in general relativity is the action that yields the Einstein field equations through the stationary-action principle. With the metric signature, the gravitational part of the action is given as :S = \int R \sqrt \, \mathrm^4x, where g=\det(g_) is the determinant of the metric tensor matrix, R is the Ricci scalar, and \kappa = 8\pi Gc^ is the Einstein gravitational constant (G is the gravitational constant and c is the speed of light in vacuum). If it converges, the integral is taken over the whole spacetime. If it does not converge, S is no longer well-defined, but a modified definition where one integrates over arbitrarily large, relatively compact domains, still yields the Einstein equation as the Euler–Lagrange equation of the Einstein–Hilbert action. The action was proposed by David Hilbert in 1915 as part of his application of the variational principle to a combination of gravity and electromagnetism. Discussion Deriving equations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covariant Differentiation
In mathematics and physics, covariance is a measure of how much two variables change together, and may refer to: Statistics * Covariance matrix, a matrix of covariances between a number of variables * Covariance or cross-covariance between two random variables or data sets * Autocovariance, the covariance of a signal with a time-shifted version of itself * Covariance function, a function giving the covariance of a random field with itself at two locations Algebra and geometry * A covariant (invariant theory) is a bihomogeneous polynomial in and the coefficients of some homogeneous form in that is invariant under some group of linear transformations. * Covariance and contravariance of vectors, properties of how vector coordinates change under a change of basis ** Covariant transformation, a rule that describes how certain physical entities change under a change of coordinate system * Covariance and contravariance of functors, properties of functors * General covariance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partial Derivative
In mathematics, a partial derivative of a function of several variables is its derivative with respect to one of those variables, with the others held constant (as opposed to the total derivative, in which all variables are allowed to vary). Partial derivatives are used in vector calculus and differential geometry. The partial derivative of a function f(x, y, \dots) with respect to the variable x is variously denoted by It can be thought of as the rate of change of the function in the x-direction. Sometimes, for the partial derivative of z with respect to x is denoted as \tfrac. Since a partial derivative generally has the same arguments as the original function, its functional dependence is sometimes explicitly signified by the notation, such as in: f'_x(x, y, \ldots), \frac (x, y, \ldots). The symbol used to denote partial derivatives is ∂. One of the first known uses of this symbol in mathematics is by Marquis de Condorcet from 1770, who used it for partial differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Signature
In mathematics, the signature of a metric tensor ''g'' (or equivalently, a real quadratic form thought of as a real symmetric bilinear form on a finite-dimensional vector space) is the number (counted with multiplicity) of positive, negative and zero eigenvalues of the real symmetric matrix of the metric tensor with respect to a basis. In relativistic physics, ''v'' conventionally represents the number of time or virtual dimensions, and ''p'' the number of space or physical dimensions. Alternatively, it can be defined as the dimensions of a maximal positive and null subspace. By Sylvester's law of inertia these numbers do not depend on the choice of basis and thus can be used to classify the metric. It is denoted by three integers , where v is the number of positive eigenvalues, p is the number of negative ones and r is the number of zero eigenvalues of the metric tensor. It can also be denoted implying ''r'' = 0, or as an explicit list of signs of eigenvalues s ... [...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. 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. In general relativity, the metric tensor plays the role of the gravitational potential in the classical theory of gravitation, although the physical content of the associated equations is entirely different. Gutfreund and Renn say "that in general relativity the gravitational potential is represented by the metric tensor." Notation and conventions This article works 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
