Paper detail

On the stability problem in relativistic thermodynamics: implications of the Chapman-Enskog formalism

Extended theories are widely used in the literature to describe relativistic fluids. The motivation for this is mostly due to the causality issues allegedly present in the first order in the gradients theories. However, the decay of fluctuations in the system is also at stake when first order theories that couple heat with acceleration are used. This paper shows that although the introduction of the Maxwell-Cattaneo equation in the description of a simple relativistic fluid formally eliminates the generic instabilities identified by Hiscock and Lindblom in 1985, the hypothesis on the order of magnitude of the corresponding relaxation term contradicts the basic ordering in Knudsen's parameter present in the kinetic approach to hydrodynamics. It is shown that the time derivative, stabilizing term is of second order in such parameter and thus does not belong to the Navier-Stokes regime where the so-called instability arises.