Physics 751 -- GENERAL RELATIVITY -- SPRING 2026

Instructor: Professor S. Martin
Office: La Tourette 214
Email: spmartin@niu.edu
Office hours: M,W,F, 11:00-12:15 and 12:45-2:00.

Class meetings: M,W,F 10:00-10:50, 227 La Tourette.

Textbook: Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity
Author: Sean M. Carroll

Note that the list of corrections found at the above link refers only to very old printings of the book. For known corrections to the more recent printings, see my unofficial and unauthorized errata list. It was last updated April 6, 2026.

Graduate catalog description: Special relativity on a flat space-time metric, manifolds and curvature, Einstein's equation, Schwarzschild solution.

Grading: 100% based on homework sets, assigned approximately weekly.

The course syllabus is available for download.

Lecture notes group 1 .

Lecture notes group 2

Lecture notes group 3

Lecture notes group 4

Lecture notes group 5

Lecture notes group 6

Lecture notes group 7

Lecture notes group 8

Homework #1 assignment (due Wednesday, January 21, 2026).

Homework #2 assignment (due Tuesday, February 3, 2026).

Homework #3 assignment (due Thursday, February 12, 2026).

Homework #4 assignment (due Friday, February 20, 2026).

Homework #5 assignment (due Monday, March 2, 2026).

Homework #6 assignment (due Tuesday, March 17, 2026).

Homework #7 assignment (due Thursday, March 26, 2026).

Homework #8 assignment (due Tuesday, April 7, 2026).

Homework #9 assignment (due Friday, April 17, 2026).