Gravitational Solitons [Paperback]

This 2001 book explains the construction of exact soliton solutions to Einstein's theory of gravity.This book gives a self-contained exposition of the theory of gravitational solitons and provides a comprehensive review of exact soliton solutions to Einstein's equations. It provides a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in the fields of general relativity, string theory and cosmology, but will also be of interest to mathematical physicists in general.This book gives a self-contained exposition of the theory of gravitational solitons and provides a comprehensive review of exact soliton solutions to Einstein's equations. It provides a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in the fields of general relativity, string theory and cosmology, but will also be of interest to mathematical physicists in general.Here is a self-contained exposition of the theory of gravitational solitons and provides a comprehensive review of exact soliton solutions to Einstein's equations. The text begins with a detailed discussion of the extension of the Inverse Scattering Method to the theory of gravitation, starting with pure gravity and then extending it to the coupling of gravity with the electromagnetic field. There follows a systematic review of the gravitational soliton solutions based on their symmetries. These solutions include some of the most interesting in gravitational physics such as those describing inhomogeneous cosmological models, cylindrical waves, the collision of exact gravity waves, and the Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes.Preface; 1. Inverse scattering technique in gravity; 2. General properties of gravitational solitons; 3. Einstein-Maxwell fields; 4. Cosmology: diagonal metrics from Kasner; 5. Cosmology: nondiagonal metrics and perturbed FLRW; 6. Cylindrical symmetry; 7. Plane waves and colliding plane waves; 8. Axial symmetry; Bibliography; Index. This monograph provides a valuable reference for researchers and graduate studenl³²