Kinetic theories: from curved space to flat space

Abstract

We generalize the equivalence between off-equilibrium state and gravitational perturbation of equilibrium state from dynamics of macroscopic quantities to that of microscopic particles. We also generalize the equivalence to incorporate off-equilibrium state with vorticity by torsional perturbation to equilibrium state. The equivalence is achieved by mapping kinetic theories of spinless and spinning particles in torsional curved space to flat space through suitable choice of inertial frame that eliminates geodesic forces on particles. The equivalence has been shown for hydrodynamic and elastic regimes. In the latter case, we predict spin polarization induced by time-variation of shear strain in elastic materials. We also provide an order-of-magnitude estimate for the polarization in Dirac semi-metal.