1312.4068Dec 14, 201352pp, 7 figs, to appear in Proceedings of 13th Marcel Grossmann meeting; revised version with some minor stylistic emendations

Marcel Grossmann and his contribution to the general theory of relativity

Tilman Sauer

History and Philosophy of Physics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Mathematical Physics

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Abstract

This article reviews the biography of the Swiss mathematician Marcel Grossmann (1878-1936) and his contributions to the emergence of the general theory of relativity. The first part is his biography, while the second part reviews his collaboration with Einstein in Zurich which resulted in the Einstein-Grossmann theory of 1913. This theory is a precursor version of the final theory of general relativity with all the ingredients of that theory except for the correct gravitational field equations. Their collaboration is analyzed in some detail with a focus on the question of exactly what role Grossmann played in it.

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