Introduction to general relativity and applications

• Grant number: 19/03968-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: March 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Raphael Santarelli
• Grantee: Matheus Melo Santos Velloso
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/09357-9 - Physics and geometry of spacetime, AP.TEM

Abstract

Einstein's Theory of General Relativity (GR) was proposed in 1915 and is currently the most accepted description of gravity. The theory stems from efforts to reconcile Special Relativity's postulates with gravity. In this sense, the Newtonian instantaneous action-at-a-distance idea had to be abandoned and, assuming a curved geometry for spacetime, gravity was identified as a mere consequence of curvature. Extreme conditions of curvature are remarkable in the theory and among these are black holes and the Big Bang Hypothesis, in the Cosmology context. The purpose of this scientific initiation project is to introduce the author to GR's fundamentals and the study of two applications of interest, namely, the physical properties of a spherical black hole in the vacuum, by the analysis of Schwarzschild's Metric; and the study of cosmological evolution, by the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker Metric.