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\centerline{\bf Special and General Relativity (PHZ 4601/5606 -- Fall 2018)}
\medskip
\centerline{\bf Prof. Bernd A. Berg}
\medskip
\centerline{ Phones: 850-273-0001, 850-644-6246, 
             ~~~e-mail: bberg at fsu dot edu }
\medskip
\centerline{ Office: 615 Keen }
\bigskip

\begin{itemize}

\item{Class:} MWF 9:05--9:55 am at HCB 0209. First Class August 27. \smallskip

\item{Office hours:} Wednesdays 10:30-11:45~am and Thursdays 1:45-3:15~pm, 
and by appointment (send e-mail). 

\item{Grader:} Juan Mejia Marin, e-mail jjm17c at my dot fsu dot edu, 
Office hours Thursdays 5:15--7 pm at 614 Keen, 
               and by appointment (send e-mail). 

\item{Midterm:} Wednesday, October 17, 2018.

\item{Test on Homework (tentative):} Friday November 30.

\item{\bf Final:} Thursday, December 11, 10 am -- 12 pm at HCB 0209.

\end{itemize}
\medskip

\noindent {\bf Required Text:} Wolfgang Rindler, {\it Relativity, 
Special, General and Cosmological}, Second Edition, Oxford University
Press, New York, 2006. 
\medskip

\centerline{\bf Overview and Goal} \medskip

The course gives an introduction to the fundamentals of space, time and
matter. As a systematic, mathematically rigorous treatment is beyond 
the scope of an undergraduate course, we intend in essence to learn by 
explaining (often omitting proofs) sections from the textbook by Rindler. 
{\bf Bring the book to the lectures!} Under the title {\it Essential 
Relativity} the book started off as a one semester course for senior 
undergraduate students, but has since then been expanded to a two 
semester course. Therefore, we will have to omit about half of the 
material. For an overview see the tentative schedule at the end of 
this syllabus and compare it with the preface and the table of contents 
of the textbook. 

After this course students should be able to explain the fundamental
ideas of Special Relativity (SR) and General Relativity (GR) and master 
to solve by themselves standard problems to which the methods apply.
\medskip

\noindent {\bf Homework and Classwork:} Weekly homework assignments 
will be posted on the web, which have to be turned in {\bf before} 
the beginning of the class indicated. After the class started problems 
can be still turned in at the end of the class, but 10\% of the maximum
possible points are taken off. After that solutions will only be 
accepted if there is a valid excuse. If you have to miss class 
communicate this by e-mail as early as possible. Each problem counts 
ten points unless stated otherwise. 

Some problems will be solved in class. Therefore, you have to {\bf bring
paper, pencil(s) and a calculator to each class.} These (unannounced) 
Classwork assignments count towards the homework score. They are turned 
in during class and students missing such a class unexcused will get no 
credit. The decisive difference from the tests is that you can talk to 
anyone during classwork, whereas during tests you may only ask the 
instructor for clarifications. Classwork is to some extent teamwork, 
while tests reflect individual skills. 

On numerical work: When parameter values are given in a problem
assignment, use them even when more accurate numbers are available. 
Round the final answer to the accuracy asked for with no rounding
performed in-between. The reason for asking you to follow this 
procedure is that some problems are designed so that the difference 
between a wrong and a false solution path does show only up in 
the last digit asked for.

For full credit on home- and classwork you need only 90\% of the 
maximally possible score. At the end of the semester 10\% will be 
added with a maximum score cut at 100\%. Additional homework 
problems will be assigned to the graduate students.

A standing assignment is to read the sections of the text as listed 
in the tentative schedule, which will be refined as we move along.
\medskip

\noindent {\bf Prerequisites:} General Physics PHY 2048, 2049 and PHY 
3221 or equivalent courses. Calculus up to partial differentiation 
and vector analysis is required.
\medskip

\noindent {\bf Grades} will be based on 40\% for homework and classwork, 
15\% for the midterm, 15\% for a test on homeworks and 30\% for the 
final. Anticipated dividing lines are: A $\ge$ 90\% $>$ A$^- \ge$ 85\% 
$>$ B$^+ \ge$ 80\% $>$ B $\ge$ 70\% $>$ B$^- \ge$ 65\% $>$ C$^+ \ge$ 
60\% $>$ C $\ge$ 55\% $>$ C$^- \ge$ 50\% $>$ D $\ge$ 40\% $>$ F.
\medskip

\noindent {\bf ADA:} Students with disabilities should register with
the Student Disability Resource Center and bring a letter to the
instructor indicating their needs. Please do so during the first
week of class.
\medskip

\noindent {\bf Honor Code:} Students are expected to uphold the 
Academic Honor Code published in the FSU Bulletin and the Student
Handbook.
\medskip

\noindent For more informations see the ``Required 
Syllabus Statements'' linked on the course website.
\bigskip % \vfil\eject

{\bf The Tentative Schedule follows on the next page.} 
It will be updated when we proceed further.
\bigskip % \vfil\eject

\begin{table}[th] 
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\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
\hline
\multicolumn{3}{|c|}{{\bf Schedule} (Tentative)} \\ \hline
Date     & Topic              & Rindler Chapters (Ch) \\ \hline
M Aug 27 & Attendance, Syllabus. Introduction: Relativity.
         & Ch 1.1 (p.3) - 1.1 (p.4)  \\
M Aug 29 & Introduction: Newtonian Relativity. 
         & Ch 1.2 (p.4) - 1.4 (p.7) \\
W Aug 29 & Introduction: The Ether.     & Ch 1.6 (p.9) - 1.7 (p.10) \\
W Aug 29 & Introduction: Origins of SR. & Ch 1.9 (p.12) - 1.10 (p.15)\\
F Aug 31 & Introduction: Einstein's Equivalence Principle (EP).
         & Ch 1.11 (p.15) - 1.16 (p.20) \\
M Sep  3 & Labor Day - No Classes  &                \\
W Sep  5 & Introduction: Gravitational frequency shift. 
         & Ch 1.16 (p.24-27) \\
F Sep  7 & SR - Synchronization of Clocks & Ch 2.6 \\

M Sep 10 & SR - Lorentz Transformations & Ch 2.1 - 2.5, 2.7 \\
W Sep 12 & SR - Rapidity Parameter      & Eq. (2.17) \\
W Sep 12 & SR - Addition theorem for velocities & Chapter 2.10 - 2.11 \\
F Sep 14 & SR - Kinematics         & Chapter 3   \\

M Sep 17 & SR - Space time and four Vectors & Chapter 5   \\
W Sep 19 & SR - Optics and Particle Mechanics &  Chapters 4 and 6 \\
F Sep 21 & SR - Four Tensors       & Chapter 7   \\

M Sep 24 & SR - Four Tensors       & Chapter 7   \\
W Sep 26 & SR - Electrodynamics    & Chapter 7   \\
F Sep 28 & General Relativity (GR) - Curved Spaces & Chapter 8 \\

M Oct  1 & GR - Static and stationary spacetimes  & Chapter 9 \\
W Oct  3 & GR - Geodesics          & Chapter 9, 10 \\
F Oct  5 & GR - Limit of Newton's gravity; Shapiro time delay 
         & Chapter 9  \\ 

M Oct  8 & GR - Geodesics and differential geometry & Chapter 10 \\
W Oct 10 & Review for the Midterm  &             \\
F Oct 12 & Midterm                 &             \\ 

M Oct 15 & GR -               Differential geometry & Chapter 10 \\
W Oct 17 & GR - Covariant derivative     & Chapter 10 \\
F Oct 19 & GR - Riemann curvature tensor & Chapter 10 \\

M Oct 22 & GR - Einstein's vacuum field equations & Chapter 10  \\ 
W Oct 24 & GR - Schwarzschild metric & Chapter 11  \\
F Oct 26 & GR - Schwarzschild metric coordinates and measurements  
         & Chapter 11  \\

M Oct 29 & GR - Schwarzschild metric particle orbits & Chapter 11  \\
W Oct 31 & GR - Schwarzschild metric photon orbits & Chapter 11  \\
F Nov  2 & GR - Black holes          & Chapter 12  \\

M Nov  5 & GR - Black holes          & Chapter 12  \\
W Nov  7 & GR - Plane gravitational wave & Chapter 13  \\
W Nov  9 & GR - Plane gravitational wave & Chapter 13  \\

M Nov 12 & Veteran's Day - No Classes &          \\
M Nov 14 & GR - Full field equations     & Chapter 14 \\
F Dec 16 & GR - Full field equations     & Chapter 14 \\

M Nov 19 & GR - Linearization        & Chapter 15 \\
W Nov 21 & Thanksgiving - No Classes &           \\
F Nov 23 & Thanksgiving - No Classes &           \\

M Nov 26 & GR - Linearization        & Chapter 15 \\
W Nov 28 & GR - Linearization        & Chapter 15 \\
F Nov 30 & Test on Homeworks         &            \\

M Dec  3 & GR - Linearization        & Chapter 15 \\
W Dec  5 & Evaluation Forms, Review for the Final & \\
F Dec  7 & Review for the Final      &             \\

R Dec 13 & Final 10 am - 12 pm       &             \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

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