Equations of Motion in General Relativity

Abstract

This book focuses attention on two aspects of equations of motion in general relativity: the motion of extended bodies(stars) and the motion of small black holes. The objective is to offer a guide to prospective researchers into these areas of general relativity and to point out open questions and topics that are ripe for further development. It is over forty years since a text on this subject was published and in that time the research area of equations of motion in general relativity has undergone extraordinary development stimulated by the discovery of the binary neutron star PSR 1913+16 in 1974, which was the first isolated gravitating system found in which general relativity plays a fundamental role in describing theoretically its evolution, and more recently by the advent of kilometre size interferometric gravitational wave detectors which are expected to detect gravitational waves produced by coalescing binary neutron stars. Included in the book are novel topics in general relativistic celestial mechanics: choreographic configurations and the relativistic motion of small black holes.