Weinberg's 1972 work, in his description, had two purposes. The first was practical to bring together and assess the wealth of data provided over the previous decade while realizing that newer data would come in even as the book was being printed. He hoped the comprehensive picture would prepare the reader and himself to that new data as it emerged. The second was to produce a textbook about general relativity in which geometric ideas were not given a starring role for (in his words) too great an emphasis on geometry can only obscure the deep connections between gravitation and the rest of physics.

Weinberg's 1972 work, in his description, had two purposes. The first was practical to bring together and assess the wealth of data provided over the previous decade while realizing that newer data would come in even as the book was being printed. He hoped the comprehensive picture would prepare the reader and himself to that new data as it emerged. The second was to produce a textbook about general relativity in which geometric ideas were not given a starring role for (in his words) too great an emphasis on geometry can only obscure the deep connections between gravitation and the rest of physics.

This is a uniquely comprehensive and detailed treatment of the theoretical and observational foundations of modern cosmology, by a Nobel Laureate in Physics. It gives up-to-date and self contained accounts of the theories and observations that have made the past few decades a golden age of cosmology.

General relativity and quantum mechanics have become the two central pillars of theoretical physics. Moreover, general relativity has important applications in astrophysics and high-energy particle physics. Covering the fundamentals of the subject, Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation describes the universe as revealed by observations and presents a theoretical framework to enable important cosmological formulae to be derived and numerical calculations performed. Avoiding elaborate formal discussions, the book presents a practical approach that focuses on the general theory of relativity. It examines different evolutionary models and the gravitational effects of massive bodies. The book also includes a large number of worked examples and problems, half with solutions.

Cosmology is a field of astronomy that studies the origin and evolution of the universe. General theory of relativity, also called Einstein's theory of gravity, serves as the foundation for comprehending the history and large-scale structure of the universe. A number of significant predictions about the physical world such as the Big Bang origin of the universe, the existence of black holes, effect of gravity on clocks, and gravitational lensing are also based on general relativity theory. According to this theory, numerous astrophysical occurrences produce gravitational waves, which are ripples in the geometry of spacetime and these propagate at the speed of light. This theory provides a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, also known as the four-dimensional spacetime model. It also improves upon Newton's law of universal gravitation and generalizes special relativity. It serves as the foundation for the fields of relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. This book unfolds the principles and applications of the general theory relativity. It presents researches and studies performed by experts across the globe. The book will help the readers in keeping pace with the rapid changes in this field.

Explore spectacular advances in contemporary physics with this unique celebration of the centennial of Einstein's discovery of general relativity.

The textbook introduces students to basic geometric concepts, such as metrics, connections and curvature, before examining general relativity in more detail. It shows the observational evidence supporting the theory, and the description general relativity provides of black holes and cosmological spacetimes. --