The Renaissance of General Relativity and Cosmology Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Author Addresses
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Exact and inexact solutions of the Einstein field equations
- 3 Inertial forces in general relativity
- 4 Relativistic radiation hydrodynamics: a covariant theory of flux-limiters
- 5 Relativistic gravitational collapse
- 6 The cosmic censorship hypothesis
- 7 The Kerr metric: a gateway to the roots of gravity?
- 8 Galactic astronomy since 1950
- 9 Galaxy distribution functions
- 10 Nonlinear galaxy clustering
- 11 Quasars: progress and prospects
- 12 Decaying neutrinos in astronomy and cosmology
- 13 Cosmological principles
- 14 Anisotropic and inhomogeneous cosmologies
- 15 Mach's principle and isotropic singularities
- 16 Implications of superconductivity in cosmic string theory
- 17 The formation and evaporation of primordial black holes
- 18 Evaporation of two dimensional black holes
- 19 Topology and topology change in general relativity
- 20 Decoherence of the cluttered quantum vacuum
- 21 Quantum non-locality and complex reality
- 22 The different levels of connections between science and objective reality
11 - Quasars: progress and prospects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Author Addresses
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Exact and inexact solutions of the Einstein field equations
- 3 Inertial forces in general relativity
- 4 Relativistic radiation hydrodynamics: a covariant theory of flux-limiters
- 5 Relativistic gravitational collapse
- 6 The cosmic censorship hypothesis
- 7 The Kerr metric: a gateway to the roots of gravity?
- 8 Galactic astronomy since 1950
- 9 Galaxy distribution functions
- 10 Nonlinear galaxy clustering
- 11 Quasars: progress and prospects
- 12 Decaying neutrinos in astronomy and cosmology
- 13 Cosmological principles
- 14 Anisotropic and inhomogeneous cosmologies
- 15 Mach's principle and isotropic singularities
- 16 Implications of superconductivity in cosmic string theory
- 17 The formation and evaporation of primordial black holes
- 18 Evaporation of two dimensional black holes
- 19 Topology and topology change in general relativity
- 20 Decoherence of the cluttered quantum vacuum
- 21 Quantum non-locality and complex reality
- 22 The different levels of connections between science and objective reality
Summary
Quasars offer important clues to the process of galaxy formation and the epoch when it occurred. Although they almost certainly involve relativistic processes close to a collapsed object, quasars have unfortunately not yet given us any real tests of strong-field gravity.
INTRODUCTION
In December 1963, the first Texas Conference on Relativistic Astrophysics was held in Dallas. Quasars had just been discovered, and were already being interpreted as gravitationally-collapsed massive objects. In his after-dinner speech, Thomas Gold said that relativists were “not only magnificent cultural ornaments, but might actually be useful to science …. What a shame it would be if we had to dismiss [them all] again”. We haven't had to do so — on the contrary, ‘relativistic astrophysics’ is a subject with ever-widening scope. It burgeoned with the detection of the microwave background in 1965, of neutron stars in 1967, and of the first stellar-mass black hole candidates in 1971. Dennis Sciama's research group was at the centre of all the key debates throughout that exciting period. I was myself fortunate to begin research in 1964, when these developments were just gaining momentum. It was my great good fortune to have been assigned as one of Dennis' students, and he has been a valued mentor and advisor ever since.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Renaissance of General Relativity and CosmologyA Survey to Celebrate the 65th Birthday of Dennis Sciama, pp. 175 - 190Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993