Thermalization of a nonequilibrium electron-positron-photon plasma
arXiv:0707.3250 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.125003
Abstract
Starting from a nonequilibrium configuration we analyse the essential role of the direct and the inverse binary and triple interactions in reaching an asymptotic thermal equilibrium in a homogeneous isotropic electron-positron-photon plasma. We focus on energies in the range 0.1--10 MeV. We numerically integrate the integro-partial differential relativistic Boltzmann equation with the exact QED collisional integrals taking into account all binary and triple interactions in the plasma. We show that first, when detailed balance is reached for all binary interactions on a timescale sec, photons and electron-positron pairs establish kinetic equilibrium. Successively, when triple interactions fulfill the detailed balance on a timescale sec, the plasma reaches thermal equilibrium. It is shown that neglecting the inverse triple interactions prevents reaching thermal equilibrium. Our results obtained in the theoretical physics domain also find application in astrophysics and cosmology.
4 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett., to appear
References in corpus (8)
- Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Fireball Model
- Positron annihilation spectrum from the Galactic Center region observed by SPI/INTEGRAL
- Bare Quark Matter Surfaces of Strange Stars and Emission
- Pair production and optical lasers
- Structure of pair winds from compact objects with application to emission from hot bare strange stars
- On the Pair Electromagnetic Pulse of a Black Hole with Electromagnetic Structure
- Wien Fireball Model of Relativistic Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei
- Kinetics of electron-positron pair plasmas using an adaptive Monte Carlo method
Cited by in corpus (37)
- Extremely high-intensity laser interactions with fundamental quantum systems
- On the classification of GRBs and their occurrence rates
- A double component in GRB 090618: a proto-black hole and a genuinely long GRB
- Early X-ray Flares in GRBs
- Theory of photospheric emission from relativistic outflows
- GRB060614: a "fake" short GRB from a merging binary system
- Non-relativistic bound states at finite temperature (II): the muonic hydrogen
- Pion and muon production in electron-positron photon plasma
- Thermalization of the mildly relativistic plasma
- GRB 090227B: the missing link between the genuine short and long GRBs
- GRB 110709B in the Induced Gravitational Collapse paradigm
- GRB 140619B: a short GRB from a binary neutron star merger leading to black hole formation
- Pair plasma relaxation time scales
- Analysis of GRB 080319B and GRB 050904 within the fireshell model: evidence for a broader spectral energy distribution
- On the role of a cavity in the hypernova ejecta of GRB 190114C
- GRB 090510: a genuine short-GRB from a binary neutron star coalescing into a Kerr-Newman black hole
- Nature of the ultrarelativistic prompt emission phase of GRB 190114C
- On the ultra-relativistic Prompt Emission (UPE), the Hard and Soft X-ray Flares, and the extended thermal emission (ETE) in GRB 151027A
- Fundamental physics from black holes, neutron stars and gamma-ray bursts
- The structure of the ultrarelativistic prompt emission phase and the properties of the black hole in GRB 180720B
- GRB 081024B and GRB 140402A: two additional short GRBs from binary neutron star mergers
- Phase space evolution of pairs created in strong electric fields
- Pauli blocking effects on pair creation in strong electric field
- Gamma flashes from relativistic electron-positron plasma droplets
- Relativistic three-body recombination with the QED vacuum
- Cosmological Strangeness Abundance
- Thermalization of electron-positron plasma with quantum degeneracy
- Numerical scheme for treatment of Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation for two-particle interactions in relativistic plasma
- Pair creation in hot electrosphere of compact astrophysical objects
- Pauli blocking effects in thermalization of relativistic plasma
- Bose-Einstein condensation in relativistic plasma
- Manifestly covariant classical correlation dynamics I. General theory
- Black Holes, Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursts
- Numerical scheme for evaluating the collision integrals for triple interactions in relativistic plasma
- Pair creation from radial electromagnetic perturbation of a compact astrophysical object
- Computational forms for binary particle interactions at different levels of anisotropy
- Photon gas dynamics in the early universe