On the existence of the Brillouin peaks in a simple dilute dissipative gas

Abstract

Light scattering due to the interaction of photons and acoustic waves present in a dilute inert gas is analyzed through the use of irreversible thermodynamics. The dispersion relation, which governs the dynamics of the density fluctuation of the gas allows the establishment of a simple criterion for the corresponding Rayleigh-Brillouin spectrum to be observed. The criterion here proposed allows a clear physical interpretation and suggests generalizations for other interesting physical scenarios.