Overview

The direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 has initiated a new era of gravitational wave astronomy, which has already paid remarkable dividends in our understanding of astrophysics and gravitational physics. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduate students, this book introduces gravitational waves and its many applications to cosmology, nuclear physics, astrophysics and theoretical physics. The material is presented in a pedagogical way, through Fermi estimates, and detailed explanations and discussions. The student will not only learn what gravitational waves are and how they are produced, but also how they can be used to learn about astrophysical phenomena and cosmological observations, to investigate the interior of neutron stars, and to test general relativity when black holes and neutron stars collide. Key Features: Provides a concise yet comprehensive treatment of gravitational wave physics Emphasises fundamental physical principles Provides a coherent integration of astrophysical and general relativistic intuition Includes carefully chosen problems designed to improve student intuition Written by experts in the field

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9780750330497

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Reviews

A relativist of my acquaintance once complained that a text by a different relativist began by telling the reader what a diffeomorphism is not. Let me therefore begin by telling you that this is not a General Relativity textbook. It is also not an astrophysics text book. Rather it is intended as a tool to get a reader (student at the level of BSc + 1 year, or other similarly prepared individual) ready to start research on gravitational waves as efficiently as possible, assuming prior knowledge of classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and classical electrodynamics. The authors also explain that they wish to encourage readers to develop the habit of doing a “Fermi-style” estimate of whatever they are looking for prior to carrying out a more detailed, rigorous calculation, if the approximate results seem to justify one. Estimating the yield of the Trinity atomic-bomb test by letting pieces of paper fly in the blast wave is given as an example, and the John Wheeler equivalent was the dictum not to do a calculation until you knew the answer. The exercises provided at the ends of each of the eight chapters and two of the three appendices are intended to promote that sort of analysis and so help to develop “physical intuition” in the serious reader. Virginia Trimble, The Observatory, October 2022 * The Observatory *

A relativist of my acquaintance once complained that a text by a different relativist began by telling the reader what a diffeomorphism is not. Let me therefore begin by telling you that this is not a General Relativity textbook. It is also not an astrophysics text book. Rather it is intended as a tool to get a reader (student at the level of BSc + 1 year, or other similarly prepared individual) ready to start research on gravitational waves as efficiently as possible, assuming prior knowledge of classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and classical electrodynamics. The authors also explain that they wish to encourage readers to develop the habit of doing a Fermi-style estimate of whatever they are looking for prior to carrying out a more detailed, rigorous calculation, if the approximate results seem to justify one. Estimating the yield of the Trinity atomic-bomb test by letting pieces of paper fly in the blast wave is given as an example, and the John Wheeler equivalent was the dictum not to do a calculation until you knew the answer. The exercises provided at the ends of each of the eight chapters and two of the three appendices are intended to promote that sort of analysis and so help to develop physical intuition in the serious reader. Virginia Trimble, The Observatory, October 2022 * The Observatory *

Author Information

Cole Miller received his PhD in physics in 1990 from the California Institute of Technology. After postdoctoral appointments at the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago, he has been a professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland since 1999. His research has focused on the astrophysics of black holes, neutron stars, and gravitational waves. Nicolás Yunes received his PhD in physics in 2008 from the Pennsylvania State University. After postdoctoral appointments at Princeton University and MIT, he was a professor of physics at Montana State University from 2011-2018, and in 2019 moved to the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, where he is a professor and founding director of the Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe. His research has focused on the fundamental physics of black holes, neutron stars, and gravitational waves.

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