Gravity

This textbook presents a comprehensive treatment of the theory and implementation of inverse methods in the analysis and interpretation of Earth’s gravity field. By restricting their consideration to a local rather than global level, the authors focus on the use of observations and data that are more sensitive to local mass anomalies. All necessary theoretical aspects are reformulated in terms of a Euclidean framework so that less complex tools from mathematical analysis can be utilized.

This book reviews various modified gravity models, including those with modifications in the pure gravitational sector; those involving extra fields, that is, scalar-tensor and vector-tensor gravity theories; gravity models with Lorentz symmetry breaking; and nonlocal gravity models. The authors discuss both classical and quantum aspects of these theories. The book is unique in bringing together all the current alternatives to Einstein gravity in one source and serves as an excellent starting point for graduate students and other newcomers seeking an overview.

Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions that exist in nature. It also has the distinction of being the oldest, weakest, and most difficult force to quantize. Understanding gravity is not only essential for understanding the motion of objects on Earth, but also the motion of all celestial objects, and even the expansion of the Universe itself. It was the study of gravity that led Einstein to his profound realisations about the nature of space and time.