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Direct interactions in relativistic statistical mechanics

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Abstract

Directly interacting particles are considered in the multitime formalism of predictive relativistic mechanics. When the equations of motion leave a phase-space volume invariant, it turns out that the phase average of any first integral, covariantly defined as a flux across a 7n-dimensional surface, is conserved. The Hamiltonian case is discussed, a class of simple models is exhibited, and a tentative definition of equilibrium is proposed.

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Invited paper, dedicated to Prof. Lawrence P. Horwitz on the occasion of his 65th birthday, October 14, 1995.

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Droz-Vincent, P. Direct interactions in relativistic statistical mechanics. Found Phys 27, 363–387 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02550162

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