The universe: a view from classical and quantum gravity. (Q2901343)

The seven chapters of this book are titled as follows: Chapter 2: Relativity, Chapter 4: Quantum physics, Chapter 6: Quantum gravity, whereas the four odd-numbered chapters are called: The Universe \(n\), with \(n\) ranging from 1 to 4. Chapter 1 starts with Newtonian gravity, explains the notion of a derivative and its historical origin, explains sine and cosine functions, presents several proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, and introduces complex numbers, quaternions, matrices, and fractal dimensions. From the astrophysical side it ranges to the explanation of standard candles.NEWLINENEWLINELikewise, the contents of the further chapters contains plenty of topics, and even on second reading I did not manage to find the red line through the whole book. And, there is neither a preface nor a conclusion section, where one typically would expect to find an explanation for the scope and intention of the text. Nevertheless, it is in most places interesting to read. Four pages with a subject index close this book. Unfortunately, no reference list is given, only the Acknowledgement contains the sentence: ``In parts, the constructions in Chapters 2--4 are related to the books Gravity: An introduction to Einstein's General Relativity by James Hartle and Introduction to quantum mechanics by David Griffiths, to which one may refer for further details.'' (See Zbl 0818.00001 for the latter.)NEWLINENEWLINEPublisher's description: ``Written by a well-known author in the field, this book presents a modern understanding of the universe based on relativity, quantum physics and their elusive combination. It introduces the crucial theoretical ingredients in an accessible way, starting from the physics of Newton and developing subsequent theories all the way to the modern enigma of quantum gravity. The intermediate level presentation assumes only a general knowledge of math and physics, adopting a `two-level' approach: equations are retained throughout the chapters but set apart from the main text in boxes to allow for lay readers to understand the book. For scientists, researchers, students and lecturers in cosmology, astronomy, gravitation, quantum and theoretical physics; as well as mathematicians, students, lecturers, academics and non-experts in related fields with an interest in the subject.''NEWLINENEWLINEFor other books by the same author on similar topics see [Quantum cosmology. A fundamental description of the universe. New York, NY: Springer (2011; Zbl 1239.83001)] and [Canonical gravity and applications. Cosmology, black holes, and quantum gravity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2011; Zbl 1210.83001)].