Operational measurement of relativistic equilibrium from stochastic fields alone
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866917354536960000 |
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| author | Wolfson, Ira |
| author_facet | Wolfson, Ira |
| contents | The inverse-temperature four-vector $β^μ= u^μ/(k_B T_0)$ has been the theoretically accepted description of relativistic equilibrium since van Kampen and Israel, yet no experiment has ever reconstructed $β^μ$ as a single observable. All existing methods -- Thomson scattering, spectral fitting, blast-wave models -- infer rest-frame temperature and flow velocity from separate measurements. We propose the first protocol that extracts both components of $β^μ$ from the same passive observable: electromagnetic fluctuation correlations emitted by a drifting medium. A dimensionless $E$-$B$ cross-spectral ratio yields the drift velocity from Lorentz mixing of the field-strength tensor, while angle-resolved noise power governed by the covariant fluctuation-dissipation theorem provides the rest-frame temperature via a ratio method that cancels absolute amplitude. Together, these reconstruct $β^μ$ without external probes, spectral lines, or absolute radiometric calibration. The protocol enables the first direct experimental test of whether the thermal state of a relativistic medium transforms as a four-vector -- a question unresolved since the Planck--Ott-Landsberg controversy of 1907. Monte Carlo simulations parameterized to the HIGGINS dual 100\,TW laser-plasma facility demonstrate sub-percent temperature recovery for $γ= 1.05$-$10$, with robustness to additive noise at SNR~$\gtrsim 10$. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_16765 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Operational measurement of relativistic equilibrium from stochastic fields alone Wolfson, Ira Plasma Physics Statistical Mechanics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology The inverse-temperature four-vector $β^μ= u^μ/(k_B T_0)$ has been the theoretically accepted description of relativistic equilibrium since van Kampen and Israel, yet no experiment has ever reconstructed $β^μ$ as a single observable. All existing methods -- Thomson scattering, spectral fitting, blast-wave models -- infer rest-frame temperature and flow velocity from separate measurements. We propose the first protocol that extracts both components of $β^μ$ from the same passive observable: electromagnetic fluctuation correlations emitted by a drifting medium. A dimensionless $E$-$B$ cross-spectral ratio yields the drift velocity from Lorentz mixing of the field-strength tensor, while angle-resolved noise power governed by the covariant fluctuation-dissipation theorem provides the rest-frame temperature via a ratio method that cancels absolute amplitude. Together, these reconstruct $β^μ$ without external probes, spectral lines, or absolute radiometric calibration. The protocol enables the first direct experimental test of whether the thermal state of a relativistic medium transforms as a four-vector -- a question unresolved since the Planck--Ott-Landsberg controversy of 1907. Monte Carlo simulations parameterized to the HIGGINS dual 100\,TW laser-plasma facility demonstrate sub-percent temperature recovery for $γ= 1.05$-$10$, with robustness to additive noise at SNR~$\gtrsim 10$. |
| title | Operational measurement of relativistic equilibrium from stochastic fields alone |
| topic | Plasma Physics Statistical Mechanics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.16765 |