Kinetic field theory of compact systems
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
2025-09-03 v1
Abstract
The kinetic field theory is developed without assumptions of statistical homogeneity and isotropy. In a solvable toy model with short-ranged interactions, we compare first-order perturbation theory to an iterated mean-field approximation scheme, demonstrating that the mean-field theory maintains positivity and captures collapse dynamics, allowing analytic estimates of blow-up times. In a self-gravitating sheet model, the first-order perturbation theory is shown to reproduce critical phenomena. This work suggests a path toward convergence analysis of the mean-field approximation and applications to more complex inhomogeneous systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.02459,
title = {Kinetic field theory of compact systems},
author = {Matthias Bartelmann and James Stokes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.02459},
year = {2025}
}