General Relativity, Cosmology and Astrophysics: Perspectives 100 years after Einstein's stay in Prague (Fundamental Theories of Physics Book 177)

The articles included in this Volume represent a broad and highly qualified view on the present state of general relativity, quantum gravity, and their cosmological and astrophysical implications. As such, it may serve as a valuable source of knowledge and inspiration for experts in these fields, as well as an advanced source of information for young researchers. The occasion to gather together so many leading experts in the field was to celebrate the centenary of Einstein's stay in Prague in 1911-1912. It was in fact during his stay in Prague that Einstein started in earnest to develop his ideas about general relativity that fully developed in his paper in 1915. Approaching soon the centenary of his famous paper, this volume offers a precious overview of the path done by the scientific community in this intriguing and vibrant field in the last century, defining the challenges of the next 100 years. The content is divided into four broad parts: (i) Gravity and Prague, (ii) Classical General Relativity, (iii) Cosmology and Quantum Gravity, and (iv) Numerical Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Kepler and Mach’s Principle....Pages 3-32 Einstein in Prague: Relativity Then and Now....Pages 33-63 Front Matter....Pages 65-65 Observers, Observables and Measurements in General Relativity....Pages 67-90 Some Links Between General Relativity and Other Parts of Physics....Pages 91-110 The General Relativistic Two Body Problem and the Effective One Body Formalism....Pages 111-145 Gravitational Self-Force: Orbital Mechanics Beyond Geodesic Motion....Pages 147-168 Hamiltonian Formalism for Spinning Black Holes in General Relativity....Pages 169-189 Stability of Marginally Outer Trapped Surfaces and Geometric Inequalities....Pages 191-208 Stationary Black-Hole Binaries: A Non-existence Proof....Pages 209-228 Dynamic and Thermodynamic Stability of Black Holes and Black Branes....Pages 229-238 Instability of Anti-de Sitter Spacetime....Pages 239-244 Higher-Dimensional Black Holes....Pages 245-260 Black Holes, Hidden Symmetry and Complete Integrability: Brief Review....Pages 261-273 Front Matter....Pages 275-275 Cosmological Models and Stability....Pages 277-303 Inflation and Birth of Cosmological Perturbations....Pages 305-321 Loop Quantum Gravity and the Planck Regime of Cosmology....Pages 323-347 The Inflationary Origin of the Seeds of Cosmic Structure: Quantum Theory and the Need for Novel Physics....Pages 349-367 Quantum Gravity: The View From Particle Physics....Pages 369-387 Front Matter....Pages 389-389 Three Little Pieces for Computer and Relativity....Pages 391-425 Instabilities of Relativistic Stars....Pages 427-458 Front Matter....Pages 389-389 Gravity Talks: Observing the Universe with Gravitational Waves....Pages 459-475 LISA in 2012 and Beyond: 20 Years After the First Proposal....Pages 477-481 Einstein’s Gravity as Seen by a Cosmic Lighthouse Keeper....Pages 483-500 The Astrophysical Signatures of Black Holes: The Horizon, The ISCO, The Ergosphere and The Light Circle....Pages 501-522 Energy Extraction from Spinning Black Holes Via Relativistic Jets....Pages 523-535