In the context of general relativity, both energy and linear-momentum constraints lead to the same equation for the evolution of the speed of free localized particles with fixed proper mass and structure in a homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe. In this paper we extend this result by considering the dynamics of particles and fluids in the context of theories of gravity nonminimally coupled to matter. We show that the equation for the evolution of the linear momentum of the particles may be obtained irrespective of any prior assumptions regarding the form of the on-shell Lagrangian of the matter fields. We also find that consistency between the evolution of the energy and linear momentum of the particles requires that their volume-averaged on-shell Lagrangian and energy-momentum tensor trace coincide (${\mathcal{L}}_{\mathrm{on}\text{−}\mathrm{shell}}=T$). We further demonstrate that the same applies to an ideal gas composed of many such particles. This result implies that the two most common assumptions in the literature for the on-shell Lagrangian of a perfect fluid (${\mathcal{L}}_{\mathrm{on}\text{−}\mathrm{shell}}=\mathcal{P}$ and ${\mathcal{L}}_{\mathrm{on}\text{−}\mathrm{shell}}=-\rho$, where $\rho$ and $\mathcal{P}$ are the proper density and pressure of the fluid, respectively) do not apply to an ideal gas, except in the case of dust (in which case $T=-\rho$).

• Received 8 March 2022
• Accepted 12 April 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.105.104005