Related papers: Teaching the Einsteinian gravity paradigm
After a decade and a half of research motivated by the accelerating universe, theory and experiment have a reached a certain level of maturity. The development of theoretical models beyond \Lambda, or smooth dark energy, often called…
In this article, we discuss the idea of gravitational lensing, from a systematic, historical and didactic point of view. We show how the basic lensing equation together with the concepts of geometrical optics opens a space of implications…
We discuss new models of an `affine' theory of gravity in multidimensional space-times with symmetric connections. We use and develop ideas of Weyl, Eddington, and Einstein, in particular, Einstein's proposal to specify the space - time…
Einstein gravitation theory can be extended by preserving its geometrical nature but changing the relation between curvature and energy-momentum tensors. This change accounts for radiative corrections, replacing the Newton gravitation…
This review is focused on tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity with gravitational waves that are detectable by ground-based interferometers and pulsar timing experiments. Einstein's theory has been greatly constrained in the…
This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers incorporating special relativity into an introductory physics curriculum. One can define the proper-time/velocity pair, as well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a traveler…
On his way to General Relativity (GR) Einstein gave several arguments as to why a special relativistic theory of gravity based on a massless scalar field could be ruled out merely on grounds of theoretical considerations. We re-investigate…
The two surprising features of gravity are (a) the principle of equivalence and (b) the connection between gravity and thermodynamics. Using principle of equivalence and special relativity in the {\it local inertial frame}, one could obtain…
A scalar, preferred-frame theory of gravitation is summarized. Space-time is endowed with both a flat metric and a curved, "physical" metric. Motion is governed by a natural extension of Newton's second law, which implies geodesic motion…
A century after its formulation by Einstein, it is time to incorporate special relativity early in the physics curriculum. The approach advocated here employs a simple algebraic extension of vector formalism that generates Minkowski…
We review and strengthen the arguments given by Einstein to derive his first gravitational field equation for static fields and show that, although it was ultimately rejected, it follows from General Relativity (GR) for negligible pressure.…
We propose a new point of view for interpreting Newton's and Einstein's theories of gravity. By taking inspiration from Continuum Mechanics and its treatment of anisotropies, we formulate new gravitational actions for modified theories of…
Einstein-aether theory is extended by allowing for spinning degrees of freedom of the aether. In addition to the acceleration, shear, expansion, and vorticity of the aether velocity field, a spin rotation describing the dynamics of a…
The construction of an averaged theory of gravity based on Einstein's General Relativity is very difficult due to the non-linear nature of the gravitational field equations. This problem is further exacerbated by the difficulty in defining…
The nature of gravity is fundamental to understand the scaffolding of the Universe and its evolution. Einstein's general theory of relativity has been scrutinized for over ninety five years and shown to describe accurately all phenomena…
One of the main technical obstacles in constructing a consistent theory of quantum gravity is that the metric itself defines the causal structure required for quantization. This motivates implementing quantum aspects of gravity through an…
The Einstein equivalence principle is based on the equality of gravitational mass and inertial mass, which has led to the universality of a free-fall concept. The principle has been extremely well tested so far and has been tested with a…
Established idea-sets don't update seamlessly. The tension between new and old views of nature is e.g. documented in Galileo's dialogs and now present in many fields. However the science of Bayesian model-selection has made recent strides…
We generalize the scale invariant gravity by allowing a negative kinetic energy term for the classical scalar field. This gives birth to a new scalar-tensor theory of gravity, in which the scalar field is in fact an auxiliary field. For a…
We describe a kinetic theory approach to quantum gravity -- by which we mean a theory of the microscopic structure of spacetime, not a theory obtained by quantizing general relativity. A figurative conception of this program is like…