The general theory of coset manifolds (coset formalism) is defined. The notion of parallel transport and general relativity on the coset manifold are explained. In particular, one has a notion of H-covariant Lie derivatives. Finally, rigid superspace is obtained as a particular type of coset manifold, using this formalism.

Parallel transport of vectors and tensor densities along curves is defined using the covariant derivative. A geodesic is defined as such a curve, along which the tangent vector, when parallely transported, is collinear with the tangent vector defined at the endpoint. Affine parametrisation is introduced.

Starting from the definition of tensorial objects by their response to coordinate transformation, this chapter builds the flat space vector calculus machinery needed to understand the role of the metric and its associated geodesic curves in general. The emphasis here is on using tensors to build equations that are “generally covariant,” meaning that their content is independent of the coordinate system used to express them. Motivated by the transformation of gravitational energy sources, the gravitational field should be a second-rank tensor, and given the way in which that tensor must show up in a particle motion Lagrangian, it is natural to interpret that tensor as a metric.

The mathematics required to analyse higher dimensional curved spaces and space-times is developed in this chapter. General coordinate transformations, tangent spaces, vectors and tensors are described. Lie derivatives and covariant derivatives are motivated and defined. The concepts of parallel transport and a connection is introduced and the relation between the Levi-Civita connection and geodesics is elucidated. Christoffel symbols the Riemann tensor are defined as well as the Ricci tensor, the Ricci scalar and the Einstein tensor, and their algebraic and differential properties are described (though technical details of the derivationa of the Rimeann tensor are let to an appendix).

We equip differentiable manifolds with a metric and introduce differential geometry, which provides the mathematical formalism underlying the theory of general relativity and many other applications in different areas of physics, science, and engineering.

This last part of the book introduces the Einstein equation – the basic equation of general relativity, in much the same way that Maxwell’s equations are the basic equations of electromagnetism. Geometries such as the Schwarzschild geometry, or those of the FRW cosmological models, are particular solutions of the Einstein equation. Just three new mathematical ideas are needed to give an efficient and standard discussion of the Einstein equation: a more precise definition of vectors in terms of directional derivatives; the notion of dual vectors as a linear map from vectors to real numbers; and the covariant derivative of a vector field in curved spacetime. These mathematical concepts are introduced in this chapter.

Presents relevant aspects of topology, such as homeomorphism, fiber and vector bundles, connection and curvature, parallel transport, and holonomy, and ends with establishing the relevance of topology to physics.