Self-interacting gas in a gravitational wave field (Q1874720)

The paper studies the influence of a \(pp\) gravitational wave onto a self-interacting gas. The gas is supposed to satisfy a general-relativistic Boltzmann equation with a non-standard collision term. The authors are able to show the existence of solutions where the gravitational wave has no imprint on the gas in the sense that the macroscopic flow of the gas remains geodetic. These solutions correspond to stationary far-from-equilibrium states that are accompanied by instabilities in the microscopic particle motion. Although these solutions are very special and may be even somewhat contrived, their very existence is physically interesting and instructive. A relation to the phenomenon of self-organization is also mentioned.