Contributors to general relativity

General relativity
Introduction Mathematical formulation Resources
Fundamental concepts Special relativity Equivalence principle World line · Riemannian geometry
Phenomena Kepler problem · Lenses · Waves Frame-dragging · Geodetic effect Event horizon · Singularity Black hole
Equations Linearized Gravity Post-Newtonian formalism Einstein field equations Geodesic equation Friedmann equations ADM formalism BSSN formalism
Advanced theories Kaluza–Klein Quantum gravity
Solutions Schwarzschild Reissner–Nordström · Gödel Kerr · Kerr–Newman Kasner · Taub-NUT · Milne · Robertson–Walker pp-wave · van Stockum dust
Scientists Einstein · Minkowski · Eddington Lemaître · Schwarzschild Robertson · Kerr · Friedman Chandrasekhar · Hawking others
v · d · e

This is a partial list of persons who have made major contributions to the development of standard mainstream general relativity. One simple rule of thumb for who belongs here is whether their contribution is recognized in the canon of standard general relativity textbooks. Some related lists are mentioned at the bottom of the page.

A

• Peter C. Aichelburg (Aichelburg/Sexl ultraboost, generalized symmetries),
• Miguel Alcubierre (numerical relativity, warp drives),
• J. A. Allnut (Alnutt fluid solution),
• Jan E. Åman (Cartan/Karlhede classification, CLASSI GR computer algebra package),
• Richard L. Arnowitt (ADM formalism, ADM mass/energy),
• Abhay Ashtekar (Ashtekar variables, dynamical horizons),
• Asghar Qadir (Relativity, Astrophysics) Pakistan

B

• Robert M L Baker, Jr. (high-frequency gravitational waves),
• O. R. Baldwin (Baldwin/Jeffery plane wave),
• James M. Bardeen (Bardeen vacuum, black hole mechanics, gauge-invariant linear perturbations of Friedmann-Lemaître cosmologies),
• Robert Bartnik (existence of ADM mass for asymptotically flat vacuums, quasilocal mass),
• Jacob Bekenstein (black hole entropy),
• Lluis Bel (second ell is not a typo, aka Louis Bel; Bel decomposition, Bel–Robinson tensor),
• Vladimir A. Belinsky (BKL conjecture, inverse scattering transform solution generating methods),
• Peter G. Bergmann (Constrained Hamiltonian dynamics),
• Bruno Bertotti (Bertotti/Robinson electrovacuum),
• George David Birkhoff (Birkhoff's theorem),
• Luc Blanchet (gravitational radiation),
• Hermann Bondi (gravitational radiation, Bondi radiation chart, Bondi mass-energy-momentum, LTB dust, maverick models),
• William B. Bonnor (Bonnor beam solution),
• Robert H. Boyer (Boyer-Lindquist chart in Kerr vacuum),
• Hubert Bray (Riemannian Penrose inequality),
• Hans Adolph Buchdahl (Buchdahl fluid, Buchdahl theorem),
• Carl H. Brans (Brans/Dicke theory),
• Dieter R. Brill (Brill–Hartle geon, Brill mass, positive energy for axisymmetric spacetimes, Brill chart, extensions),
• Hans W. Brinkmann (exact gravitational waves, Brinkmann chart),
• Claudio Bunster (BTZ Black hole, Surface terms in Hamiltonian formulation),
• William L. Burke (Burke potential, textbook),
• Lior M. Burko (Black hole interiors, Beetle–Burko scalar),

C

• J. Carminati (CM invariants),
• Bernard Carr (self-similarity hypothesis, primordial black holes),
• Brandon Carter (no-hair theorem, black hole mechanics, variational principle for Ernst vacuums),
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Chandrasekhar limit, colliding plane waves, quasinormal modes, relativistic stars, monograph),
• Jean Chazy (Chazy/Curzon vacuum),
• Matthew W. Choptuik (critical phenomena in gravitational collapse, numerical relativity),
• Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (formerly Yvonne Bruhat; initial value formulations),
• Demetrios Christodoulou (naked singularity in LTB dust, stability of Minkowski vacuum),
• Piotr T. Chruściel (asymptotics of RT vacuums, existence of vacuums admitting no maximal slicing, existence of Taub IX vacuums with nonunique extensions to NUT vacuum region, Cauchy horizons in T3-Gowdy vacuums),
• Christopher J. S. Clarke (textbooks),
• C-M Claudel / R.P.A.C Newman (Gravitational collapse and cosmic censorship, Photon surface)
• Alan A. Coley (dynamics of minisuperspace, similarity hypothesis),
• Justin Corvino (construction of initial data not admitting conformal geometry approach, gravitational shielding),
• H. E. J. Curzon (Chazy/Curzon vacuum),

D

• Thibault Damour (gravitational radiation)
• Georges Darmois (matching conditions, Darmois vacuum),
• R. Debever (type D vacuum solutions),
• Marek Demianski (type D vacuum solutions),
• Stanley Deser (ADM initial value formulation, effective field theory),
• Steven Detweiler (quasinormal modes),
• Bryce DeWitt (Wheeler/DeWitt equation),
• Robert H. Dicke (Brans/Dicke theory, PPN formalism, background radiation),
• Ray d'Inverno (textbook),
• Paul A.M. Dirac (graviton),
• W. G. Dixon (Dixon–Papapetrou equations),
• Tevian Dray (asymptotic structure, gravitational shock waves)
• R. W. Drever (gravitational wave detectors),

E

• Arthur Stanley Eddington (early book, Eddington chart on Schwarzschild vacuum, role of curvature, PPN formalism, popularizations of general relativity),
• Jürgen Ehlers (Ehlers vacuum family, symmetries of PP waves, spacetime view of gravitational lensing, Newtonian limit),
• Albert Einstein (the creator of general relativity, with various contributions too important to attempt to summarize here),
• George F. R. Ellis (relativistic cosmological models, classification of curvature singularities, averaging problem in cosmology, gauge-invariant linear perturbations of spatially homogeneous cosmologies, "small universes", monograph, Virbhadra–Ellis lens equation),
• Roberto Emparan (black rings)
• G. Erez (Erez/Rosen vacuum),
• Frederick J. Ernst (Ernst vacuum family, Ernst equation, solution generating methods, Ernst/Wild electrovacuum),
• Loránd Eötvös (Weak Equivalence Principle experiment),
• Frank B. Estabrook (hyperbolic formulations of the EFE),

F

• David L. Farnsworth (use of Lie groups in relativity, Kerr/Farnsworth ansatz),
• Valeria Ferrari (Chandrasekhar/Ferrari colliding plane wave, Ferrari/Ibañez colliding plane wave, relativistic stars),
• Alexander Feinstein (Inhomogeneous Cosmologies, Gravitational Solitons, Colliding Plane Waves, Tachyonic Inflation),
• Richard Feynman (sticky bead argument [as 'Mr. Smith']),
• David Finkelstein (rediscovered Eddington chart on Schwarzschild vacuum),
• Helmut Friedrich (nonlinear global stability of de Sitter spacetime, peeling behavior is generic under small global nonlinear perturbations of Minkowksi spacetime, symmetric hyperbolic formulations of Einstein's field equations),
• Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (textbook, harmonic chart),
• Gyula Fodor (Fodor method for generating static spherically symmetric perfect fluid solutions),
• Robert L. Forward (gravitational wave detectors),
• William A. Fowler (relativistic stellar models, gravitational collapse),
• Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman (Aleksandr Friedman; Friedman cosmological models),
• John L. Friedman (topological censorship),
• C. Frønsdal (global structure of Schwarzschild vacuum),

G

• Robert P. Geroch (Geroch group, singularity theorems, GHP formalism),
• Kurt Gödel (Gödel dust solution, closed timelike curves),
• Robert H. Gowdy (Gowdy solutions),
• Jerry B. Griffiths (colliding plane waves),

H

• Richard O. Hansen (Geroch–Hansen stationary relativistic multipole moments, Ashtekar–Hansen conformal completion),
• B. Kent Harrison (gravitational collapse, solution generating methods),
• James Hartle (quantum cosmology, textbook),
• Stephen W. Hawking (singularity theorems, Hawking radiation, monograph),
• Charles W. Hellaby (cosmological models),
• David Hilbert (variational principle),
• Cornelius Hoenselaers (solution generating methods, monograph)
• Banesh Hoffmann (EIH approximation),
• Fred Hoyle (maverick models),
• Russell Hulse (Hulse/Taylor pulsar),

I

• J. Ibañez (colliding plane wave, solution generating methods, Ferrari/Ibañez colliding plane waves),
• Leopold Infeld (EIH approximation),
• Lorenzo Iorio (phenomenology of gravitoelectromagnetism and of modified models of gravity)
• Richard Isaacson (energy-momentum complex),
• James A. Isenberg (initial value formulations, gluing construction),
• J. M. Islam (monograph),
• Werner Israel (no hair theorem, tidal forces around black hole singularities, black hole interiors and mass inflation),

J

• Theodore Jacobson (thermodynamical derivation of Einstein's field equation),
• Robert T. Jantzen (streamlined Bianchi classification, gravitoelectromagnetism),
• Jørg Tofte Jebsen (Birkhoff's theorem),
• George Barker Jeffery (Baldwin/Jeffery plane wave),
• Pascual Jordan (Jordan/Brans/Dicke theory),

K

• Ronald Kantowski (Kantowski/Sachs fluids),
• Anders Karlhede (Cartan–Karlhede classification),
• Edward Kasner (Kasner dust solution),
• Roy Patrick Kerr (Kerr vacuum, Kerr/Schild metrics, use of Lie groups in relativity, Kerr/Farnsworth ansatz),
• Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov (BKL conjecture),
• William Morris Kinnersley (photon rocket),
• Sergiu Klainerman (global stability of Minkowski vacuum),
• Oskar Klein (Klein fluid, Kaluza–Klein theories),
• Arthur Komar (Komar energy-momentum integrals),
• Dmitri R. Korotkin (finite-gap solutions, solution generating methods),
• Dietrich Kramer (solution generating methods, monograph),
• Andrzej Krasiński (exact solutions),
• Erich Kretschmann (Kretschmann invariant),
• Martin Kruskal (KS chart for Schwarzschild vacuum),
• Wolfgang Kundt (EK classification of symmetries of pp waves),

L

• Cornelius Lanczos (Lanczos tensor, van Stockum dust),
• Lev D. Landau (LL complex, textbook),
• Kayll Lake (GRTensorII, Lake method for generating static spherically symmetric perfect fluids),
• Georges-Henri Lemaître (cosmological model, LTB dust, Lemaître chart on Schwarzschild vacuum),
• José P. S. Lemos (Black holes with horizons with toroidal topology),
• Josef Lense (Lense/Thirring precession),
• Tullio Levi-Civita (static vacuums, C-metric; see also related list below),
• R. M. Lewis (chart for Ernst vacuums),
• André Lichnerowicz (3+1 formalism, matching conditions, Lichnerowicz equation),
• Evgeny M. Lifshitz (Landau–Lifschitz gravitational energy-momentum complex, BKL conjecture, textbook),
• Alan P. Lightman (problem book),

M

• Malcolm A. H. MacCallum (non-tilted spatially homogeneous cosmologies, exact solutions book),
• M. Mathisson (Mathisson–Dixon–Papapetrou equations, Mathisson–Pirnai condition in the Kerr metric),
• Richard A. Matzner (popularized Penrose picture of gravitational wave, rotating cosmologies),
• Marc Mars (Mars vacuum),
• David Maxwell (Yamabe number criterion for existence of asymptotically flat vacuum solutions),
• R. G. McLenaghan (CM invariants),
• Reinhard Meinel (Neugebauer/Meinel dust disk solution),
• M. A. Melvin (Melvin electrovacuum),
• A.W.K. Metzner (Gravitational waves, Bondi–Metzner–Sachs Group)
• Hermann Minkowski (spacetime),
• Charles W. Misner (mixmaster model, ADM initial value formulation, ADM mass, textbook)
• John Moffat (various classical gravitation theories)
• Vincent Moncrief (global properties of spatially compact dynamical vacuum spacetimes),
• C. Møller (energy-momentum complex),
• Moustafa Mosharafa (Relation of radiation, mass and energy),

N

• Hidekazu Nariai (Nariai Lambdavacuum solution),
• Gernot Neugebauer (Neugebauer/Meinel dust disk solution),
• Ezra Ted Newman (Newman–Penrose formalism, Kerr–Newman black hole solution, Janis–Newman–Winicour solution, NUT vacuum, RT spacetimes, relation of lensing to Weyl tensor),
• Wei-Tou Ni (competing theory),
• Gunnar Nordström (competing theory, RN electrovacuum),
• Kenneth Nordtvedt (Nordtvedt effect, PPN formalism, competing theory),
• Igor D. Novikov (Novikov chart in Schwarschild vacuum, No hair theorem, Accretion disks around black holes, monograph),

O

• S. O'Brien (O'Brien/Synge matching conditions),
• Peter O'Donnell (Lanczos potential theory),
• Niall Ó Murchadha (initial value formulation, proof of the Penrose inequality in spherical symmetry (with E. Malec), mathematical relativity including analysis of quasi-local mass and the constraint equations),
• Robert Oppenheimer (gravitational collapse, OS dust),
• Amos Ori (black hole interiors, time machines, radiation reaction, gravitational collapse),
• István Ozsváth (Ozsváth/Schücking plane wave),

P

• Georgios O. Papadopoulos (Papadopoulos-Xanthopoulos solution),
• Achilles Papapetrou (chart for Ernst vacuum family, Majumdar-Papapetrou electrovacuums, Dixon-Papapetrou equations),
• L.K. Patel (Vaidya-Patel solution),
• Paul Painlevé (Painlevé chart in Schwarzschild vacuum),
• Roger Penrose (singularity theorems, conformal compactification and techniques from algebraic geometry, Penrose limits, cosmic censorship hypotheses, Penrose inequalities, geometry of gravitational plane waves, impulsive waves, Penrose/Khan colliding plane wave, Newman/Penrose formalism, twistor theory, Weyl curvature hypothesis, highly influential monograph),
• Asher Peres (gravitational wave maverick),
• Zoltán Perjés (relavistic multipoles, Ernst vacuums),
• Volker Perlick (solution methods, strong lensing),
• Alexei Zinovievich Petrov (A. Z. Petrov or Aleksey Zinovjevitch Petrov; Petrov classification of algebraic properties of Weyl curvatue tensor),
• Tsvi Piran (gravitational collapse),
• Felix A. E. Pirani (gravitational radiation, Petrov/Pirani classification of algebraic properties of Weyl curvature tensor),
• Jerzy F. Plebański (Plebanski vacuum, Plebanski action),
• Boris Podolsky (EPR paradox),
• Eric Poisson (black hole interiors, mass inflation, monograph),
• William H. Press (gravitational wave astronomy, problem book),
• Richard H. Price (power law decay of perturbations, problem book),

Q

• Hernando Quevedo (relativistic multipoles, exact solutions),

R

• George Yuri Rainich (Rainich conditions),
• A. K. Raychaudhuri (Raychaudhuri equation),
• István Rácz (spacetime extensions)
• Tullio Regge (Regge calculus),
• Hans Reissner (RN electrovacuum),
• Alan D. Rendall (Fuchsian analysis of non-oscillatory spacetime singularities, dynamics of Einstein-Vlasov systems),
• Wolfgang Rindler (Rindler chart for Minkowski vacuum),
• Hans Ringström (strong cosmic censorship holds for T3-Gowdy vacuums),
• Mark D. Roberts(exact scalar Einstein solutions),
• Howard Percy Robertson (role of curvature, PPN formalism, RW metric),
• Ivor Robinson (Bel/Robinson tensor, Bertotti/Robinson electrovacuum),
• Nathan Rosen (gravitational wave maverick, Erez-Rosen solution, EPR paradox, Einstein-Rosen bridge,Einstein-Rosen gravitational waves),
• Remo Ruffini (particle motion in black holes, textbook),
• Michael P. Ryan (rotating cosmological models),

S

• Rainer K. Sachs (peeling theorem, optical scalars, Kantowski/Sachs fluid solutions, Sachs-Wolfe effect, Bondi-Metzner-Sachs group),
• Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (vacuum fluctuations),
• Alfred Schild (Kerr/Schild metrics, Schild's ladder),
• Leonard Isaac Schiff (PPN formalism, textbook),
• Kristin Schleich (topological censorship, chaos, quantum cosmology),
• Bernd G. Schmidt (Geroch group, classification of curvature singularities, b-boundary, quasinormal modes),
• Richard Schoen (positive energy theorem, gravitational shielding),
• Engelbert Schücking (Ozsváth/Schücking plane wave),
• Bernard F. Schutz (gravitational wave detectors, textbook),
• Karl Schwarzschild (Schwarzscild solution, Schwarzschild radius, Event horizon, Schwarzschild vacuum, Schwarzschild fluid),
• Dennis William Sciama (Einstein-Cartan theory, role in legitimizing black hole concept),
• Jose M. M. Senovilla (Senovilla dust),
• Irwin I. Shapiro (Shapiro effect, observational tests),
• Harlow Shapley (rotating cosmologies),
• D. H. Sharp (Sharp-Misner mass, quasilocal energy-momentum),
• Lawrence Shepley (rotating cosmological models),
• Douglas A. Singleton (asymptotics of RT spacetimes),
• Willem de Sitter (or deSitter; deSitter Lambdavacuum solution, deSitter precession),
• Hartland Snyder (OS collapsing dust model),
• Hans Stephani (Stephani dust solution, monograph, textbook),
• John M. Stewart (singularities of wavefronts of gravitational waves, monograph),
• Willem Jacob van Stockum (van Stockum dust),
• John Lighton Synge (global structure of Schwarzschild vacuum, world function, O'Brien/Synge matching conditions),
• László B. Szabados (quasilocal energy-momentum)
• Peter Szekeres (Szekeres metric, colliding plane waves, Szekeres fluid),

T

• L. A. Tamburino (NUT vacuum),
• Abraham Haskel Taub (Taub plane symmetric vacuum, Taub-NUT vacuum, vacuum solutions foliated by Bianchi manifolds, relativistic hydrodynamics),
• Joseph Taylor (Hulse/Taylor pulsar),
• Saul Teukolsky (master equation for perturbations of Kerr vacuum, problem book),
• Hans Thirring (Lense/Thirring precession effect)
• Kip S. Thorne (relativistic multipoles, hoop conjecture, membrane paradigm, gravitational wave detectors, textbook),
• Frank J. Tipler (classification of curvature singularities)
• Richard Chase Tolman (Tolman surface brightness test, Tolman dust solutions, LTB dust),
• Andrzej Trautman (RT spacetimes),

U

• Claes Uggla (dynamical systems techniques in relativistic gravitation, exact solutions)
• William G. Unruh (Unruh radiation),
• T. Unti (NUT vacuum),

V

• P. C. Vaidya ( Vaidya metric, Vaidya-Patel metric),
• Maurice H.P.M. van Putten (textbook, model for long-duration GRBs from rotating black holes as LIGO/Virgo sources of GWs),
• Enric Verdaguer (inverse scattering solution generating method),
• K. S. Virbhadra (Virbhadra-Ellis lens equation Virbhadra-Ellis lens equation, Relativistic images [1], Photon surfaces [2], Observational test for the weak cosmic censorship hypothesis [3][4]),

W

• Hugo D. Wahlquist (Wahlquist fluid),
• John Wainwright (dynamical systems techniques in relativistic cosmology, exact solutions)
• Robert M. Wald (textbook, black hole perturbations, electric fields outside a black hole, quantum field theory on curved spacetimes),
• Arthur Geoffrey Walker (Fermi/Walker derivatives, Robertson/Walker metric),
• Anzhong Wang (Gravitational Collapse, Cosmology and Horava-Lifshtz Gravity)
• Joseph Weber (gravitational wave detectors),
• Hermann Weyl (Weyl vacuums; see also related list below),
• John Archibald Wheeler (coined name "black holes" and popularized them, geometrodynamics, relativistic stars, Zerilli/Wheeler equation, Wheeler/DeWitt equation, textbook),
• Alfred North Whitehead (competing theory),
• Bernard F. Whiting (mode stability of Kerr geometry, regularized Green's functions for classical and quantum fields),
• W. J. Wild (Ernst/Wild electrovacuum),
• Clifford Martin Will (PPN formalism),
• Jeffrey Winicour (JNS mcmsf solution, characteristic evolution and matching),
• Donald M. Witt (topological censorship, chaos),
• Edward Witten (positive energy theorem),
• Louis Witten (Witten electrovacuum solutions),

X

• Basilis C. Xanthopoulos (Vasilis Xanthopoulous; Chandrasekhar-Xanthopoulos colliding plane wave),

Y

• Shing-Tung Yau (positive energy theorem),
• James W. York (initial value formulation),
• Ulvi Yurtsever (almost planar gravitational waves),

Z

• Vladimir E. Zakharov (inverse scattering transform solution generating method),
• Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich (early evidence for no hair theorem, first evidence of black hole radiation, maverick theories, relativistic stars and black holes),
• Franco J. Zerilli (Zerilli/Wheeler equation),
• Nina Zipser (global nonlinear stability of Minkowski a space of electrovacuums),

See also

• Contributors to the mathematical background for general relativity
• Cosmologists