The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time: 50th Anniversary Edition(Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics)

First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form 'black holes'; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of space-time curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general space-time, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past fifty years.

Table of Contents:
Foreword to the Anniversary Edition Abhay Ashtekar; Preface to the Anniversary Edition George F. R. Ellis; Preface; 1. The role of gravity; 2. Differential geometry; 3. General relativity; 4. The physical significance of curvature; 5. Exact solutions; 6. Causal structure; 7. The Cauchy problem in General Relativity; 8. Space-time singularities; 9. Gravitational collapse and black holes; 10. The initial singularity in the universe; Appendixes; References; Notation; Index.

About the Author :
Stephen W. Hawking (1942–2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge from 1979 to 2009 and is the author of numerous books, including the international best-seller A Brief History of Time. (1989). George F. R. Ellis is the emeritus distinguished professor of complex systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is considered one of the world's leading theorists in cosmology and, in recent years, he has been prolific in areas relating to the philosophy of science. He is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Relativistic Cosmology (with Roy Maartens and Malcolm MacCallum, 2012).

Review :
'The book is a masterpiece, written by sure hands.' Science 'Certain to rank as an outstanding classic of the current advance of relativity theory.' Contemporary Physics 'La parution de ce livre est un événement important …' La Recherche 'This special 50th anniversary republication of this famous monograph is well welcome addtion to the community. This text helped lay the groundwork for gravitational research for the next 50 years; inspiring and educating generations of researchers. I recommend this text to anyone who is interested in learning the foundation of gravitational research.' Kymani Tieral Keden Armstrong-Williams, https://physicsbookreviewer.blogspot.com/ 'Studying this monograph requires robust mathematics and familiarity with general relativity. The USP is it is the original, not an updated version. Everything is still valid and contemporary even though the black hole is real now but that is the beauty - it will be just like time-travelling!' B. Ishak, Contemporary Physics