Applied General Relativity: Theory and Applications in Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics and Metrology (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)

In the late 20th and beginning 21st century high-precision astronomy, positioning and metrology strongly rely on general relativity. Supported by exercises and solutions this book offers graduate students and researchers entering those fields a self-contained and exhaustive but accessible treatment of applied general relativity. The book is written in a homogenous (graduate level textbook) style allowing the reader to understand the arguments step by step. It first introduces the mathematical and theoretical foundations of gravity theory and then concentrates on its general relativistic applications: clock rates, clock sychronization, establishment of time scales, astronomical references frames, relativistic astrometry, celestial mechanics and metrology. The authors present up-to-date relativistic models for applied techniques such as Satellite LASER Ranging (SLR), Lunar LASER Ranging (LLR), Globale Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Very Large Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), radar measurements, gyroscopes and pulsar timing. A list of acronyms helps the reader keep an overview and a mathematical appendix provides required functions and terms. Front Matter ....Pages i-xx Introduction (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 1-13 Elements of Differential Geometry (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 15-45 Newtonian Celestial Mechanics (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 47-113 Relativity (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 115-155 Einstein’s Theory of Gravity (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 157-184 Exact Solutions—Field Moments (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 185-233 The Post-Newtonian and MPM Formalisms (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 235-288 First Applications of the PN-Formalism (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 289-335 Astronomical Reference Systems (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 337-365 The Gravitational N-Body Problem (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 367-399 Light-Rays (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 401-429 Metrology (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 431-496 Appendix (Michael H. Soffel, Wen-Biao Han)....Pages 497-516 Back Matter ....Pages 517-538