Cosmological two-fluid bulk viscosity

A simple two-fluid model of cosmological bulk viscosity, in which small deviations from thermal equilibrium account for the viscous bulk pressure, is substantiated by kinetic theory. Some peculiar issues regarding its relation to the radiative fluid model are discussed. The microphysical picture underlying the viscous dissipation is made precise. We also consider a reactive ‘cross’ viscosity associated with deviations from detailed balance, which includes the so-called creation pressure of the cosmological fluid. For collisional interactions between the fluid components, the reactive viscous pressure is not an independent mechanism for entropy production. Entropy from cross effects may be generated through an effective isentropic particle source. In both instances new results are obtained for the reactive viscosity, and applied to a representative case of non-equilibrium decay.