General Relativity -- Physics 530 -- Spring 2025

Lecturer: W. Unruh.
Tel: 604 7365745
Email:

Teaching Assistant:

Phone:
Email:

Web Site: www.theory.physics.ubc.ca/530
(For Assignments, Solutions, extra notes, this blurb, etc.)

Text:There is no "official" text book. The course will consist of the lectures and reading which I will post.

A few books which you might find helpful:

C. Misner, K. Thorne, J. Wheeler Gravitation
A comprehensive book on General Relativity as of the late 70's It covers a vast variety of topics, but nothing about quantum effects and gravity.
R Wald General Relativity
AS much more mathematical treatment of the subject. Again, it is dominantly classical treatment.
R Wald Quantum Field theory in Curved Spacetime...
Covers the topic of quantum field theory in a classical background geomentry, including Black Hole evaporation
S. Carroll Spacetime and Geometry : A relatively straightforward presentation with emphasis on Cosmology. A previous version is also available online. http://preposterousuniverse.com/grnotes/

Course Times: Lectures T,Th 2:00-3:30
Location: Math 202. If the course goes ahead I will be trying to move this to Henn or Hebb. Will let you know.

Course components: (The mark distributions are approximate)

Midterms=about 20%
The midterm will take place around midterm break
Assignments= about 25%
There will be about 6 assignments throughout the term. It is important that these be done on time. Solutions will be posted here on this web site (www.theory.physics.ubc.ca/341-current ) Assignments will be due about 7 days after they are assigned and solutions will be posted about three days later.
Late assignments will lose 5% per day, until the solutions are posted, at which time you will get 0 for that assignment if it has not been handed in. The solution posting time is the time of appearance of the solutions on the course web page, which can be accurately determined to the second. Note that assignments put into the box outside my office after I have left for the day should be date-stamped by some other responsible, disinterested person, so I know when it was put into the box. DO NOT put them into the metal racks outside 311B as I do not look for them there.
You may discuss the problems with each other, and approach either me with questions (we will not solve the problems for you, but will try to provide guidance as to how to think about the problems) However, I expect all of you to write up and understand your own solutions. Copying someone else's solutions will not be looked on with favour. (Plagiarism-- the use of someone elses material as if it were your own-- is a high offence in the university. This includes copying other people's solutions to assignments or having someone else do your work for you. People have been barred from the university for such offences.) I do encourage you to work together on assignments and on trying to understand the questions, the course material or even how to do the problems by working together. However you must write up your own solutions, using your own understanding of the solutions in writing it up.
Essay= about 25%
Due: Last day of classes.
Length: 10 pages.--ie, 3000 words
Format: Up to you. (Eg, if a web page would be more suitable to the way you want to make your point, use that, or if a tape, CD, DVD, MD would be useful, I can read those-- but do not send me the computer files from proprietary editors (MS Word, etc) assuming that I can read them on my computer. I may not be able to, and I may well not have the appropriate fonts. Of course you may use whatever document processor you wish to in order to produce a printed paper copy, which you could scan in to a PDF, which I can read. I can also accept postscipt or PDF documents for electronic submission. If in any doubt, ask me.)
Make sure you reference your sources.
The essay topic is up to you to decide. It can be on any topic in the area of gravity . This should be a chance for you to study in more depth some topic which you would be interested in knowing more about.
Please make sure that you have an idea of what you want to write on by the time of the midterm. You are expected to do your own (secondary source) research on your topic, and any indication of a "canned" essay (Ie, any essay written in whole or in part by someone else) will be regarded with great disfavour by both me and the University. (See the University Policy on Plagiarism in the calendar.) (Students have been expelled for handing in essays written by others, or where major sources were not attributed).
You are required to state your sources for the material you use with an appropriate bibliographical reference. The format of the Bibliographical reference I leave up to you, as long as it allows me to find the location of the material.
You can use the Web as a bibliographical source, but treat it with appropriate suspicion. Anyone can post anything on the web. Truth or validity need not be a criterion for posting material on the internet.
Re the length. By 10 pages I mean about 3000 words. Title page, blank inside pages do not count as "pages". The shorter the essay, the more important the words contained in it are and it is hard (though not impossible) to make a 2000 word essay so compelling that this makes up for its length. Furthermore, very very few pictures are worth 1000 words. While the use of pictures, graphs, drawings,... is encouraged, they should be relevant and contribute to the understanding of the essay, and should be minimal size to convey what they are meant to convey. Essays over 4000 words annoy me, as I have to read them under time pressure at the end of term. Annoying the marker is never a good tactic. (Of course, if the essay is so brilliant that I just cannot put it down, I might well not notice its length.)
Line spacing should be 1.5 to double space.
Late essays will lose 5% of the maximum mark per week (or part of a week) late. Thus if the essay is marked out of 20 marks, each week late will lose 1 mark. The maximum possible loss is 20%, but by that time the marks have to be in to the dean, and you will get an Incomplete on the course. If that lasts long enough the mark you get will be as if the essay had gotten 0.
Final= about 30%
The final exam will consist of a number of questions of which you will not have to answer all for maximum marks (ie, there will be some choice). It will test a combination of your knowing the material and your ability to use it to think about the world of gravity.

I have not made the above mark distribution definite as I want freedom to be able to adjust marks to take into account happenstances of the year.

I expect everyone to pass, although offer no guarantees.

Purpose of the Course

The purpose of the course is to study some advanced topics In General Relativity, Einstein's theory of gravity. After a quick review of Special Relativity, we will understand the physical basis of tensor analysis and the origin of the structures used to define the mathematics of General Relativity. The path Einstein took to his final theory in 1915, will be examined, and the importance of the independence of the physics on coordinates will be emphasised. Some of the brand new predictions the theory made will be examined, especially that of gravitational radiation. We will also look at the overlap between quantum mechanics and gravity, from the quantum nature of gravity wave detectors, to quantum cosmology and the quantum effects of black holes.

Copying, Plagiarism, etc

As you should know by now, copying and plagiarism are frowned up very strongly by the university. I also get upset. I am perfectly fine with you working together on the assignment but everyone should make sure that they write up the solutions separately. Simply copying your friends assignment can land you in very hot water-- i.e., do not do it. Working together on the exams (Mid Term or final) is not acceptable.
Similarly, plagiarism is also not to be done. This includes using an essay you have already used for another course, copying other people's essays, buying essays off the web or elsewhere, having someone else write your essay for you, using material from the web or elsewhere without properly referencing it, etc. The Calendar has an extensive section on Academic misconduct.
Plagiarism and Citation described and
Discipline for Academic Misconduct and especially
Calendar entry on Academic Misconduct
Please read them. Violation of these rules can lead to disciplinary actions, ranging from a mark of 0 on the assignment/essay, failure of the course, or expulsion from the university.

I do not pass essays through TurnItIn because I feel that their appropriation of your work to further they own commercial interests without permission or compensation makes my using it hypocritical. I do however have a fair knowledge of the material on the web and in books, and have often been able to identify when people have simply copied something. If I am very suspicious of a paragraph or so from your essay, I might submit it on its own to TurnItIn without any reference to you or the context of the larger essay.

Large Language Models (eg ChatGPT)

I do not mind you using LLMs to aid you in searching for your topic or giving you ideas. I do object to your using them to write your paper. That is plagerism.

If you use an LLM in helping you in writing your essay, you must reference it in your list of references.

Remember that the analogy to human behaviour of LLMs is that they are sociopaths. Truth or falsity is not something they know or care about. Speaking untruths is a common resource they use to answer your requests. (This is something sometimes called Hallucination but that is not a good analogy).

Remember that the LLMs are not well trained on mathematical or Physics papers, and tend to do very badly on elementary arithmetic so in general you have to be very careful with them. Ie, they are best used by someone who understands the subject they are being asked to write on. Students often use them when they do not know the subject and have not taken the time to learn it.

I may well interview you to ensure that the essay you hand in is your own.

Statement re Course content,Covid, and foreign laws

(While the Covid epidemic has been felt to have died down, noone has informed the virus of this. It is still killing people. So wearing of masks in my class is perfectly acceptable to me. This class will be in person. However, I may record some of the lectures. The following statement thus still applies to anyone taking or viewing the course online.

During this pandemic, the shift to online learning has greatly altered teaching and studying at UBC, including changes to health and safety considerations. Keep in mind that some UBC courses might cover topics that are censored or considered illegal by non-Canadian governments. This may include, but is not limited to, human rights, representative government, defamation, obscenity, gender or sexuality, and historical or current geopolitical controversies. If you are a student living abroad, you will be subject to the laws of your local jurisdiction, and your local authorities might limit your access to course material or take punitive action against you. UBC is strongly committed to academic freedom, but has no control over foreign authorities (please visit http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,33,86,0 for an articulation of the values of the University conveyed in the Senate Statement on Academic Freedom). Thus, we recognize that students will have legitimate reason to exercise caution in studying certain subjects. If you have concerns regarding your personal situation, consider postponing taking a course with manifest risks, until you are back on campus or reach out to your academic advisor to find substitute courses. For further information and support, please visit: http://academic.ubc.ca/support-resources/freedom-expression

Note that I do not expect that the material of this course is considered controvertial by any government, but I do not know that for sure. You will have to come to a decision re the government of the area where you are staying for yourself.