Transport coefficients of the relativistic degenerate electron gas in a strong magnetic field

The transport coefficients for a relativistic degenerate electron plasma embedded in a strong magnetic field are calculated in a relaxation time approximation for the case of a collision dominated plasma. The heat conduction gives rise to two thermal conduction coefficients (parallel and transverse) plus a diffusion term. The two usual viscosity coefficients (bulk and shear) split into five viscosity coefficients (bulk, parallel, transverse, cross shear, plus bulk/shear). Transverse and longitudinal electric conductivities are also calculated. The model depends on a relaxation time which has to be evaluated according to the specific physical situation under consideration. The techniques used throughout this paper are those of the covariant Wigner distributions studied elsewhere. (author)