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Universe
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Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and...
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Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives

A special issue of Universe (ISSN 2218-1997). This special issue belongs to the section "Gravitation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 809

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ministero dell’ Istruzione e del Merito, Viale Unità di Italia 68, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: general relativity and gravitation; classical general relativity; post-newtonian approximation; perturbation theory; related approximations; gravitational waves; observational cosmology; mathematical and relativistic aspects of cosmology; modified theories of gravity; higher-dimensional gravity and other theories of gravity; experimental studies of gravity; experimental tests of gravitational theories; geodesy and gravity; harmonics of the gravity potential field; geopotential theory and determination; satellite orbits; orbit determination and improvement; astrometry and reference systems; ephemerides, almanacs, and calendars; lunar, planetary, and deep-space probes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Øyvind Grøn

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Art and Design, Faculty of Technology, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 4 St., Olavs Plass, NO-0130 Oslo, Norway
Interests: cosmology; early universe; inflation; general theory of relativity; electromagnetism of uniformly accelerated charges; conceptual understanding of general relativity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The General Theory of Relativity (GTR), enunciated just 110 years ago, remains to this day the best description of gravitation, the feeblest out of the four fundamental interactions and, nonetheless, the one ruling the cosmos at the grandest scales.

Empirical evidence for this theory has recently begun to accumulate. However, fewer tests have been conducted regarding this compared to those supporting electromagnetism and the two nuclear interactions. Indeed, in most situations that are subject to direct experimental investigation, gravitation is far weaker than the other fundamental interactions. In particular, the GTR reaches its full potential only in extreme scenarios characterized by exceptionally intense gravitational fields that rapidly vary over the shortest space and temporal scales, and in speeds close to that of light. Such conditions can be found uniquely in the deepest astronomical recesses.

Its most spectacular confirmations recently came from the detection of gravitational waves emitted during the last stages of the cosmic dance of pairs of black holes and neutron stars that would inevitably lead to their merger, and from the radio waves emitted from matter in the neighbors of the supermassive black holes at the cores of our galaxy and of M87.

On the other hand, the lingering inability of effectively merging GTR with quantum mechanics still represents a key challenge. Strictly connected to this problem is that of the singularities that would likely mark the end of the validity domain of the theory. Additionally, the still unexplained nature of dark matter and dark energy poses challenges to it at galactic and cosmological scales.

This commemorative Special Issue, to which distinguished scholars from all over the world are invited to contribute, is devoted shedding more light on such themes.

Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio
Prof. Dr. Øyvind Grøn
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Universe is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • general relativity
  • 110th anniversary
  • gravitation
  • cosmology
  • challenges in gravitational physics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1269 KiB  
Article
Many Phases in a Hairy Box in Three Dimensions
by Shoichiro Miyashita
Universe 2025, 11(7), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11070208 - 25 Jun 2025
Viewed by 60
Abstract
In this paper, I investigate gravitational thermodynamics of the Einstein–Maxwell–scalar system in three dimensions without a cosmological constant. In a previous work by Krishnan, Shekhar, and Bala Subramanian, it was argued that this system has no BH saddles, but has only empty (flat [...] Read more.
In this paper, I investigate gravitational thermodynamics of the Einstein–Maxwell–scalar system in three dimensions without a cosmological constant. In a previous work by Krishnan, Shekhar, and Bala Subramanian, it was argued that this system has no BH saddles, but has only empty (flat space) saddles and boson star saddles. It was then concluded that the structure of the thermodynamic phase space is much simpler than in the higher-dimensional cases. I will show that, in addition to the known boson star and empty saddles, three more types of saddles exist in this system: the BG saddle, its hairy generalization, and a novel configuration called the boson star-PL saddle. As a result, the structure is richer than one might naively expect and is very similar to the higher-dimensional ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives)
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21 pages, 2916 KiB  
Article
Reissner–Nordström and Kerr-like Solutions in Finsler–Randers Gravity
by Georgios Miliaresis, Konstantinos Topaloglou, Ioannis Ampazis, Nefeli Androulaki, Emmanuel Kapsabelis, Emmanuel N. Saridakis, Panayiotis C. Stavrinos and Alkiviadis Triantafyllopoulos
Universe 2025, 11(7), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11070201 - 20 Jun 2025
Viewed by 134
Abstract
In a previous study we investigated the spherically symmetric Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild–de Sitter solutions within a Finsler–Randers-type geometry. In this work, we extend our analysis to charged and rotating solutions, focusing on the Reissner–Nordström and Kerr-like metrics in the Finsler–Randers gravitational framework. In [...] Read more.
In a previous study we investigated the spherically symmetric Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild–de Sitter solutions within a Finsler–Randers-type geometry. In this work, we extend our analysis to charged and rotating solutions, focusing on the Reissner–Nordström and Kerr-like metrics in the Finsler–Randers gravitational framework. In particular, we extract the modified gravitational field equations and we examine the geodesic equations, analyzing particle trajectories and quantifying the deviations from their standard counterparts. Moreover, we compare the results with the predictions of general relativity, and we discuss how potential deviations from Riemannian geometry could be reached observationally. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives)
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15 pages, 1152 KiB  
Article
A Novel Logarithmic Approach to General Relativistic Hydrodynamics in Dynamical Spacetimes
by Mario Imbrogno, Rita Megale, Luca Del Zanna and Sergio Servidio
Universe 2025, 11(6), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11060194 - 18 Jun 2025
Viewed by 122
Abstract
We introduce a novel logarithmic approach within the Baumgarte–Shapiro–Shibata–Nakamura (BSSN) formalism for self-consistently solving the equations of general relativistic hydrodynamics (GRHD) in evolving curved spacetimes. This method employs a “3 + 1” decomposition of spacetime, complemented by the “1 + log” slicing condition [...] Read more.
We introduce a novel logarithmic approach within the Baumgarte–Shapiro–Shibata–Nakamura (BSSN) formalism for self-consistently solving the equations of general relativistic hydrodynamics (GRHD) in evolving curved spacetimes. This method employs a “3 + 1” decomposition of spacetime, complemented by the “1 + log” slicing condition and Gamma-driver shift conditions, which have been shown to improve numerical stability in spacetime evolution. A key innovation of our work is the logarithmic transformation applied to critical variables such as rest-mass density, energy density, and pressure, thus preserving physical positivity and mitigating numerical issues associated with extreme variations. Our formulation is fully compatible with advanced numerical techniques, including spectral methods and Fourier-based algorithms, and it is particularly suited for simulating highly nonlinear regimes in which gravitational fields play a significant role. This approach aims to provide a solid foundation for future numerical implementations and investigations of relativistic hydrodynamics, offering promising new perspectives for modeling complex astrophysical phenomena in strong gravitational fields, including matter evolution around compact objects like neutron stars and black holes, turbulent flows in the early universe, and the nonlinear evolution of cosmic structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives)
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20 pages, 1555 KiB  
Article
Nethotrons: Exploring the Possibility of Measuring Relativistic Spin Precessions, from Earth’s Satellites to the Galactic Centre
by Lorenzo Iorio
Universe 2025, 11(6), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11060189 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 189
Abstract
By “nethotron”, from the ancient Greek verb for “to spin”, it is meant here a natural or artificial rotating object, like a pulsar or an artificial satellite, whose rotational axis is cumulatively displaced by the post-Newtonian static (gravitoelectric) and stationary (gravitomagnetic) components of [...] Read more.
By “nethotron”, from the ancient Greek verb for “to spin”, it is meant here a natural or artificial rotating object, like a pulsar or an artificial satellite, whose rotational axis is cumulatively displaced by the post-Newtonian static (gravitoelectric) and stationary (gravitomagnetic) components of the gravitational field of some massive body around which it freely moves. Until now, both relativistic effects have been measured only by the dedicated space-based mission Gravity Probe B in the terrestrial environment. It detected the gravitoelectric de Sitter and gravitomagnetic Pugh–Schiff spin precessions of four superconducting gyroscopes accumulated within a year after about 50 years from conception to completion of data analysis at a cost of 750 million US dollars to 0.3 and 19 percent accuracy, respectively. The perspectives to measure them with Earth’s long-lived laser-ranged geodetic satellites, like those of the LAGEOS family or possibly one or more of them to be built specifically from scratch, and pulsars orbiting the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre, yet to be discovered, are preliminarily investigated. The double pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B is examined as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives)
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Review

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44 pages, 683 KiB  
Review
Structural Stability and General Relativity
by Spiros Cotsakis
Universe 2025, 11(7), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11070209 - 26 Jun 2025
Viewed by 44
Abstract
We review recent developments in structural stability as applied to key topics in general relativity. For a nonlinear dynamical system arising from the Einstein equations by a symmetry reduction, bifurcation theory fully characterizes the set of all stable perturbations of the system, known [...] Read more.
We review recent developments in structural stability as applied to key topics in general relativity. For a nonlinear dynamical system arising from the Einstein equations by a symmetry reduction, bifurcation theory fully characterizes the set of all stable perturbations of the system, known as the ‘versal unfolding’. This construction yields a comprehensive classification of qualitatively distinct solutions and their metamorphoses into new topological forms, parametrized by the codimension of the bifurcation in each case. We illustrate these ideas through bifurcations in the simplest Friedmann models, the Oppenheimer-Snyder black hole, the evolution of causal geodesic congruences in cosmology and black hole spacetimes, crease flow on event horizons, and the Friedmann–Lemaître equations. Finally, we list open problems and briefly discuss emerging aspects such as partial differential equation stability of versal families, the general relativity landscape, and potential connections between gravitational versal unfoldings and those of the Maxwell, Dirac, and Schrödinger equations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of General Relativity: Advances, Challenges and Perspectives)
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