Thermal equilibrium of an ideal gas in a free-floating box
Astrophysics of Galaxies
2021-08-11 v1
Abstract
The equilibrium and fluctuations of an ideal gas in a rigid container are studied by every student of statistical mechanics. Here we study the less well-known case when the box is floating freely; in particular we determine the fluctuations of the box in velocity and position due to interactions with the gas it contains. This system is a toy model for the fluctuations in velocity and position of a black hole surrounded by stars at the center of a galaxy. These fluctuations may be observable in nearby galaxies.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2012.13273,
title = {Thermal equilibrium of an ideal gas in a free-floating box},
author = {Scott Tremaine and Bence Kocsis and Abraham Loeb},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.13273},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
5 pages, no figures, submitted to American Journal of Physics