Instructor: Wolfgang Tichy
Office: Science and Engineering (SE) 444
E-mail: wolf "at" fau.edu (be sure to put PHY 6938 in the subject line)
Phone: 7-3380
Class Website:
http://www.physics.fau.edu/~wolf/Teaching/2025_NumRel
Office Hours: Tuesdays 15:20-16:20, Thursdays 15:20-16:20, and by appointment
Textbooks:
M. Alcubierre, Introduction to 3+1 Numerical Relativity (Oxford Science
Publications)
A. P. Lightman, W. H. Press, R. H. Price and S. A. Teukolsky,
problem book in relativity and gravitation
(Princeton University Press, 1975)
Other books worth looking at:
Eric Gourgoulhon, 3+1 Formalism and Bases of Numerical Relativity
(
https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0703035 )
S. M. Carroll, An Introduction to General Relativity Spacetime and Geometry
(Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2004)
C. Misner, K. Thorne and J. Wheeler, Gravitation (Freeman, 1973)
R. Wald, General Relativity (Chicago, 1984)
S. Weinberg, Gravitation and Cosmology (Wiley, 1972)
P. A. M. Dirac, General Theory of Relativity (Wiley, 1975)
Course objectives:
The course will give an overview of Numerical Relativity.
It is intended to be a second graduate course in General Relativity.
The course is self contained, but some prior knowledge of General
Relativity is expected.
In the beginning we review a number of mathematical tools
used in General Relativity. These tools will then be used to derive the 3+1
formulation of General Relativity. Within this formulation we then discuss
how compact objects such as black holes or neutron stars can be evolved and
simulated on computers.
The lectures will set the pace for the course, but problem solving is an
essential part of this course. The students are expected
to study on their own by reading assigned texts and by solving assigned
problems.
Topics covered:
Homework:
All homework problems will be posted on the class
website. The first few problem sets will not be graded.
The due dates for the graded problem sets will be posted on the class
website. You will loose about 10% of the maximum score for each day
your homework is late.
Please note that it is essential that you do all problem sets (graded or
not). This is the only way for you to learn.
Homework policy:
You must solve the problems yourself. This is the optimal way to learn the
material. If you are stuck on a problem you may discuss it with other
students or the instructor. However, this discussion should be limited to
understanding the essential point(s) so that you can go ahead and solve most
of the problem yourself.
In particular, do not use solution sets from problem/solution books,
or any other sources to simply look up your homework problems!
Grades will be based on the following:
| Activity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Homework | 25% |
| Class Participation | 5% |
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 40% |
Tentative exam dates:
Midterm Exam: 3/18/2025 in class
Final Exam: 4/29/2025 from 10:00 - 12:30 in SE 319
Exam Make up policy:
In general any missed exam will count as if the student has obtained zero
points. If the student can convince the instructor that the exam was missed
for a good reason, the student's grade will be computed from the remaining
exams and homework.
Strange Florida law issues:
Students enrolled in this course may be allowed to record video or audio
of class lectures in certain cases. To find out more read, the official
university policies.
But even in allowed cases, it is much more polite (and also prudent) to ask
for instructor agreement before starting to record.
FAU policy statements:
Please see the so called "Simple Syllabus" in Canvas for all official
FAU policies.