The singularity theorems tell us that singularities form in a large class of spacetimes, including the physically relevant cases of the big bang and of the gravitational collapse of a star to form a black hole. However, these theorems tell us very little about the nature of the singularities. For example, we would like to know the entire class of incomplete observers, how the curvature behaves along their world lines and whether they can see the singularity before they hit it. Since we do not have the general solution of Einstein's equation in closed form, it is proposed to use all the methods available for the study of singularities: (i) to find exact solutions and study their singularities, (ii) to examine, in a general way the behavior of classes of singular spacetimes, or (iii) to perform a numerical study of spacetimes with singularities to address these issues. ½¼^¡&ú¼^¼(½

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Physics (PHY)
Application #
9722039
Program Officer
Richard Isaacson
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1997-07-01
Budget End
2000-06-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
$68,993
Indirect Cost
Name
Oakland University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Rochester
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48309