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I'm reading the book "Semi-Riemannian Geometry: The Mathematical Language of General Relativity" by Newman. There are definitely other questions on math background needed for GR, but my aim is to find which topics from that particular book aren't essential so that my self study is more efficient.

The ToC for the book is here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/semi-riemannian-geometry-stephen-c-newman/1133040658

My purpose is to get an idea about the mathematical underpinnings of intermediate-level GR. It would be incredibly helpful to me if people familiar with GR here can give me an idea on which topics I can skip and which ones are critical.

For example, I know that ch 1-6, ch 9, ch 10, ch 14-15, ch 18-19 are essential. And I think that ch 11-13 can be skipped since their purpose seems to be to give a concrete foundation for more abstract intrinsic differential geometry concepts, but I'm comfortable with starting out from abstract concepts. About the rest of the chapters, I'm not sure. Would appreciate your views on this!

Shirish Kulhari
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  • Possible duplicates: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/247150/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Feb 21 '22 at 06:37
  • @Qmechanic: I don't see the two questions as duplicates at all. The linked question is about a book recommendation. This question is about specific mathematical topics that can be skipped for an intermediate understanding of GR. I'd like to request that the question be reopened. – Shirish Kulhari Feb 21 '22 at 06:46
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    Hi Shirish Kulhari. Please note that res. recom. questions are restricted on Phys.SE. The question (v2) seems opinion-based. – Qmechanic Feb 21 '22 at 07:06
  • @Qmechanic : Could you elaborate on why it's opinion based? Not trying to argue but I think those who know GR well would have a clear idea on what specific math topics are strictly essential and which aren't. If you can give me feedback on that, I can accordingly edit the question or let it remain closed. – Shirish Kulhari Feb 21 '22 at 07:16
  • The text for the close option probably reads "Seeking recommendations for books, tools, software libraries, and more. This question is likely to lead to opinion-based answers.". – Peter Mortensen Feb 21 '22 at 15:03
  • @PeterMortensen : But there's an explicit tag for "resource recommendations". Doesn't it contradict that? Last time I checked (around 3 or so years back) such questions were valid on Phys SE. Are they no longer valid? – Shirish Kulhari Feb 21 '22 at 15:07

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