Dynamical analysis of a first order theory of bulk viscosity

We perform a global analysis of curved Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies in the presence of a viscous fluid. The fluid’s bulk viscosity is governed by a first order theory recently proposed in [M. M. Disconzi, T. W. Kephart, and R. J. Scherrer, Phys. Rev. D 91, 043532 (2015)], and the analysis is carried out in a compactified parameter space with dimensionless coordinates. We provide stability properties, cosmological interpretation and thermodynamic features of the critical points.