Related papers: General Relativity Requires Absolute Space and Tim…
The Friedmann equation is derived for a Newtonian universe. Changing mass density to energy density gives exactly the Friedmann equation of general relativity. Accounting for work done by pressure then yields the two Einstein equations that…
Contrary to our immediate and vivid sensation of past, present, and future as continually shifting non-relational modalities, time remains as tenseless and relational as space in all of the established theories of fundamental physics. Here…
We consider various curious features of general relativity, and relativistic field theory, in two spacetime dimensions. In particular, we discuss: the vanishing of the Einstein tensor; the failure of an initial-value formulation for vacuum…
General Relativity is contaminated with non-trivial geometries which generate closed timelike curves. These apparently violate causality, producing time-travel paradoxes. We shall briefly discuss these geometries and analyze some of their…
This short review is addressed to cosmologists. General relativity predicts that space-time comes to an end and physics comes to a halt at the big-bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology have shown that these predictions cannot…
The purpose of this article is to draw attention to some fundamental issues in General Relativity. It is argued that these deep issues cannot be resolved within the standard approach to general relativity that considers {\em every} solution…
General relativity is a set of physical and geometric principles, which lead to a set of (Einstein) field equations that determine the gravitational field, and to the geodesic equations that describe light propagation and the motion of…
The field equations of general relativity are shown to derive from the existence of a limit force or of a limit power in nature. The limits have the value of c^4/4G and c^5/4G. The proof makes use of a result by Jacobson. All known…
General relativity promotes space-time to a physical, dynamical object subject to equations of motion. Quantum gravity, accordingly, must provide a quantum framework for space-time, applicable on the smallest distance scales. Just like…
After recalling the conceptual foundations and the basic structure of general relativity, we review some of its main modern developments (apart from cosmology) : (i) the post-Newtonian limit and weak-field tests in the solar system, (ii)…
The expansion of our universe, when followed backward in time, implies that it emerged from a phase of huge density, the big bang. These stages are so extreme that classical general relativity combined with matter theories is not able to…
Based on the conjecture that rather than the second law of thermodynamics inevitably be breached as matter approaches a big crunch or a black hole singularity, the order of events should reverse, a model of the universe that resolves a…
Cosmological observations are beginning to reach a level of precision that allow us to test some of the most fundamental assumptions in our working model of the Universe. One such an assumption is that gravity is governed by the General…
It is often said that in general relativity time does not exist. This is because the Einstein equations generate motion in time that is a symmetry of the theory, not true time evolution. In quantum gravity, the timelessness of general…
Space-Time in general relativity is a dynamical entity because it is subject to the Einstein field equations. The space-time metric provides different geometrical structures: conformal, volume, projective and linear connection. A deep…
General relativistic cosmology cannot be reduced to linear relativistic perturbations superposed on an isotropic and homogeneous (Friedmann-Robertson-Walker) background, even though such a simple scheme has been successfully applied to…
We show that when we work with coordinate cosmic time, which is not proper time, Robertson-Walker's metric, includes a possible rotational state of the Universe. An exact formula for the angular speed and the temporal metric coefficient, is…
We consider here the genericity aspects of spacetime singularities that occur in cosmology and in gravitational collapse. The singularity theorems (that predict the occurrence of singularities in general relativity) allow the singularities…
We investigate the fate of determinism in general relativity (GR), comparing the philosopher's account with the physicist's well-posed initial value formulations. The fate of determinism is interwoven with the question of what it is for a…
General Relativity is the modern theory of gravitation. It has replaced the newtonian theory in the description of the gravitational phenomena. In spite of the remarkable success of the General Relativity Theory, the newtonian gravitational…