Thermodynamic Analysis of a Self-Gravitating Gas in Astrophysical Contexts

Abstract

The thermodynamics of a self-gravitating gas cloud of particles interacting only via their gravitational potential is an interesting problem with peculiarities arising due to the long-ranged nature of the gravitational interaction. Based on our recent work on the properties of such a configuration, we extend the system to contain a central gravitational field in which the particles are moving, to mimic the potential of a central compact object exerting an external force on the gas cloud. After an introduction to the general problem, including the aforementioned peculiarities and possible solutions, we will discuss the particular properties of the self-gravitating gas in a central field and its thermodynamic analysis.