29:273: General relativity and cosmology: Assignments

Conventions:
F: Feynman Lectures on Physics, Addison-Wesley, 1963
J: J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, THIRD EDITION, 1998.
P: P. J. Peebles, Principles of Physical Cosmology, Princeton, 1993.
D: P. A. M. Dirac, General Theory of Relativity, Princeton, 1975.
W: S. Weinberg, Gravitation and Cosmology, Wiley, 1972.
T: A. Taylor and J. Wheeler, Exploring Black Holes, Addison-Wesley, 2000.
M: C. Misner, K. Thorne and J. Wheeler, Gravitation, Freeman, 1973.
O: H. Ohanian and R. Ruffini, Gravitation and Spacetime, Norton, 1994.
L: A. Linde, Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology, Harwood, 1990.

Date Topic
Aug. 27 Readings: FI: chapter 15 (undergraduate review); J: Chapter 11 (graduate review);
W: Ch.2 sections 1-5; P: pp 227-233.
Aug. 29 Problem set 1 (given in class)
Sept. 3 D: sections 1-5.
Sept. 10 Problem set 2 .
Sept. 12. Readings: D up to section 15; W: Ch. 4 up to section 6; P: Ch. 8 .
Sept. 17 Problem set 3 (due 9/24) .
Sept. 24 Readings: D:16-18; W: Ch. 3 up to section 5; P: Ch. 9.
Sept. 26 Problem set 4 (due 10/8) .
Oct. 3 Readings: D: 19, 20, 24-27, 30; W: Chapters 8 and 12.
Oct. 8 Review Questions
Oct. 17 Midterm I
Oct. 22 Readings: P: Chapter 10; Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics 3RD EDITION: 12.7 and 12.10; W: 2.10.
Oct. 24 Problem set 5 (due 10/31)
Oct. 29 Readings: P: 1-130; W: 14 and 15
Nov. 5 Problem set 6 (due 11/12)
Nov. 7 Readings: P: Ch. 12
Nov. 12 Readings: Linde: Ch. 1
Nov. 14 Problem set 7 (due Nov. 21)
Nov. 21 Readings: P Chapter 6
Nov. 26 Problem set 8 (due Dec. 3)
Dec. 3 Readings: P Chapters 15, 17.
Dec. 10 Midterm II
Dec. 20 Final Exam, 4:30 PM, VAN 618