Normalization of an averaged four-velocity

ID: normalization-of-an-averaged-four-velocity

The average of future-directed normalized four-velocities is generally timelike but is not normalized. For an isotropic ensemble with common Lorentz factor , the mean is and has squared norm . A normalized bulk velocity instead equals . In a perfect fluid in general relativity its rest-frame energy eigenvector is the natural bulk choice; the rest-frame energy density includes random kinetic energy.

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