The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Relativistic fluid dynamics: physics for many different scales

Relativistic fluid dynamics: physics for many different scales
Relativistic fluid dynamics: physics for many different scales
The relativistic fluid is a highly successful model used to describe the dynamics of many-particle, relativistic systems. It takes as input basic physics from microscopic scales and yields as output predictions of bulk, macroscopic motion. By inverting the process, an understanding of bulk features can lead to insight into physics on the microscopic scale. Relativistic fluids have been used to model systems as “small” as heavy ions in collisions, and as large as the Universe itself, with “intermediate” sized objects like neutron stars being considered along the way. The purpose of this review is to discuss the mathematical and theoretical physics underpinnings of the relativistic (multiple) fluid model. We focus on the variational principle approach championed by Brandon Carter and his collaborators, in which a crucial element is to distinguish the momenta that are conjugate to the particle number density currents. This approach differs from the “standard” text-book derivation of the equations of motion from the divergence of the stress-energy tensor in that one explicitly obtains the relativistic Euler equation as an “integrability” condition on the relativistic vorticity. We discuss the conservation laws and the equations of motion in detail, and provide a number of (in our opinion) interesting and relevant applications of the general theory.
1433-8351
83pp
Andersson, Nils
2dd6d1ee-cefd-478a-b1ac-e6feedafe304
Comer, Gregory L.
734e606a-fbae-4765-b778-4f2d844eb9f4
Andersson, Nils
2dd6d1ee-cefd-478a-b1ac-e6feedafe304
Comer, Gregory L.
734e606a-fbae-4765-b778-4f2d844eb9f4

Andersson, Nils and Comer, Gregory L. (2007) Relativistic fluid dynamics: physics for many different scales. Living Reviews in Relativity, 10 (1), 83pp.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The relativistic fluid is a highly successful model used to describe the dynamics of many-particle, relativistic systems. It takes as input basic physics from microscopic scales and yields as output predictions of bulk, macroscopic motion. By inverting the process, an understanding of bulk features can lead to insight into physics on the microscopic scale. Relativistic fluids have been used to model systems as “small” as heavy ions in collisions, and as large as the Universe itself, with “intermediate” sized objects like neutron stars being considered along the way. The purpose of this review is to discuss the mathematical and theoretical physics underpinnings of the relativistic (multiple) fluid model. We focus on the variational principle approach championed by Brandon Carter and his collaborators, in which a crucial element is to distinguish the momenta that are conjugate to the particle number density currents. This approach differs from the “standard” text-book derivation of the equations of motion from the divergence of the stress-energy tensor in that one explicitly obtains the relativistic Euler equation as an “integrability” condition on the relativistic vorticity. We discuss the conservation laws and the equations of motion in detail, and provide a number of (in our opinion) interesting and relevant applications of the general theory.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 30 January 2007

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 48197
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/48197
ISSN: 1433-8351
PURE UUID: 00f23743-e9e6-40c2-af0e-62d342545a1d
ORCID for Nils Andersson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8550-3843

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 Sep 2007
Last modified: 08 Jan 2022 02:48

Export record

Contributors

Author: Nils Andersson ORCID iD
Author: Gregory L. Comer

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×