Weinstein, Galina (2023) A comprehensive survey of Schwarzschild's original papers: Schwarzschild's trick and Einstein's s(h)tick. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper examines Schwarzschild's key contributions to general relativity through his two papers. It focuses on his method for developing exterior and interior solutions. The study emphasizes Schwarzschild's ingenious methods and the implications of his solutions. The paper delves into the exchange of letters between Schwarzschild and Einstein, highlighting the collaborative nature of their scientific interaction. Interestingly, despite presenting Schwarzschild's exact solutions to the Prussian Academy, Einstein exhibited a preference for his approximate methods in his 1916 review paper "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity." Contrary to common belief, the paper reveals that in 1916, Einstein's preference for approximate solutions over Schwarzschild's exact exterior solution was not due to a singularity concern. This finding dissociates Einstein's 1916 methodology from his later preoccupation with singularities, which became prominent only during his subsequent focus on unified field theory. Thus, the research posits that factors other than singularities influenced Einstein's decision to stick with approximate methods in 1916.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Weinstein, Galina galiweinstein.mc2@gmail.com
Keywords:	Karl Schwarzschild, Albert Einstein, general relativity, unimodular coordinates, Mercury perihelion, interior, exterior. metric, deflection, bending of light, Newtonian limit, energy momentum conservation, Emmy Noether, Johannes Droste, field equations, metric tensor, stress–energy tensor, geodesic equation, Christoffel symbols, approximation
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User:	Dr. Galina Weinstein
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2023 02:51
Last Modified:	06 Dec 2023 02:51
Item ID:	22822
Official URL:	https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.01865
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date:	4 December 2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22822

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