Fokker-Planck equation for the Brownian motion in the post-Newtonian approximation

TL;DR

This paper derives a post-Newtonian Fokker-Planck equation for Brownian motion in a gravitational context, analyzing stability and gravitational effects on diffusion processes.

Contribution

It introduces a post-Newtonian correction to the Fokker-Planck equation for Brownian particles, including gravitational potential dependence and stability analysis.

Findings

Identification of propagating and non-propagating modes for wavelengths smaller than the Jeans wavelength.

Demonstration of instability growth for wavelengths larger than the Jeans wavelength.

Expressions for friction coefficients in first and second post-Newtonian approximations.

Abstract

A mixture of light-gas particles and Brownian heavy particles is analyzed within the framework of a post-Newtonian Boltzmann equation to determine the Fokker-Planck equation for the Brownian motion. For each species, the equilibrium distribution function refers to the corresponding post-Newtonian Maxwell-J\"uttner distribution function. The expressions for the friction viscous coefficient in the first and second post-Newtonian approximations are determined, and we show their dependence on the corresponding gravitational potentials. A linear stability analysis in the Newtonian and post-Newtonian Fokker-Planck equations for the Brownian motion is developed, where the perturbations are assumed to be plane harmonic waves of small amplitudes. From a dispersion relation it follows that: (i) for perturbation wavelengths smaller than the Jeans wavelength two propagating modes -- corresponding to harmonic waves in opposite directions -- and one mode that does not propagate show up; (ii) for perturbation wavelengths bigger than the Jeans wavelength the time evolution of the perturbation corresponds to a growth or a decay and the one which grows refers to the instability.