Curvature in Mathematics and Physics

This original text for courses in differential geometry is geared toward advanced undergraduate and graduate majors in math and physics. Based on an advanced class taught by a world-renowned mathematician for more than fifty years, the treatment introduces semi-Riemannian geometry and its principal physical application, Einstein's theory of general relativity, using the Cartan exterior calculus as a principal tool. Starting with an introduction to the various curvatures associated to a hypersurface embedded in Euclidean space, the text advances to a brief review of the differential and integral calculus on manifolds. A discussion of the fundamental notions of linear connections and their curvatures follows, along with considerations of Levi-Civita's theorem, bi-invariant metrics on a Lie group, Cartan calculations, Gauss's lemma, and variational formulas. Additional topics include the Hopf-Rinow, Myer's, and Frobenius theorems; special and general relativity; connections on principal and associated bundles; the star operator; superconnections; semi-Riemannian submersions; and Petrov types. Prerequisites include linear algebra and advanced calculus, preferably in the language of differential forms.

Shlomo Zvi Sternberg is a leading mathematician noted for his work in geometry. A longtime mathematics professor at Harvard University, he has written several textbooks for undergraduate students as well as a number of monographs used at Harvard and other educational institutions.

As astronaut Donald K. Slayton notes in his Foreword, this chronicle emphasizes the cooperation of "humans on space and on the ground. It realistically balances the role of the highly visible astronaut with the mammoth supporting team." An official NASA publication, Suddenly, Tomorrow Came is profusely illustrated with forty-four figures and tables, plus sixty-three photographs. Historian Paul Dickson brings the narrative up to date with an informative new Introduction.

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