Relativistic Kinetic Theory

With Applications in Astrophysics and Cosmology

Gregory V. Vereshchagin, Alexey G. Aksenov

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781107048225
• eBook ISBN:
  9781316984048
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Astronomy & Astrophysics

Relativistic kinetic theory has widespread application in astrophysics and cosmology. The interest has grown in recent years as experimentalists are now able to make reliable measurements on physical systems where relativistic effects are no longer negligible. This ambitious monograph is divided into three parts. It presents the basic ideas and concepts of this theory, equations and methods, including derivation of kinetic equations from the relativistic BBGKY hierarchy and discussion of the relation between kinetic and hydrodynamic levels of description. The second part introduces elements of computational physics with special emphasis on numerical integration of Boltzmann equations and related approaches, as well as multi-component hydrodynamics. The third part presents an overview of applications ranging from covariant theory of plasma response, thermalization of relativistic plasma, comptonization in static and moving media to kinetics of self-gravitating systems, cosmological structure formation and neutrino emission during the gravitational collapse.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms and Definitions
• Introduction
• Part I Theoretical Foundations
• Part II Numerical Methods
• Part III Applications
• Appendix A: Hydrodynamic Equations in Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates
• Appendix B: Collision Integrals in Electron-Positron Plasma
• Appendix C: Collision Integrals for Weak Interactions
• Bibliography
• Index