Megandhren Govender

In this paper we investigate the role of causal heat transport in a spatially homogeneous, locally-rotationally symmetric Bianchi type-V cosmological model. In particular, the causal temperature profile of the cosmological fluid is obtained within the framework of extended irreversible thermodynamics. We demonstrate that relaxational effects can alter the temperature profile when the cosmological fluid is out of hydrostatic equilibrium.

We investigate the dynamical nature of the collapse process of a spherically symmetric star in quasi-static hydrodynamical equilibrium. The star collapses from an initial static configuration by dissipating energy in the form of a radial heat flux. The dissipation ensures that the singularity is never formed and the stellar mass completely evaporates over a finite time.

In this paper we investigate the physics of a radiating star undergoing dissipative collapse in the form of a radial heat flux. Our treatment clearly demonstrates how the presence of shear affects the collapse process; we are in a position to contrast the physical features of the collapsing sphere in the presence of shear with the shear-free case. By employing a causal heat transport equation of the Maxwell-Cattaneo form we show that the shear leads to an enhancement of the core temperature thus emphasizing that relaxational effects cannot be ignored when the star leaves hydrostatic equilibrium.