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Article
Equilibration, Generalized Equipartition, and Diffusion in Dynamical Lorentz Gases
Journal of Statistical Physics
  • Stephan De Bievre
  • Paul Ernest Parris, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

We demonstrate approach to thermal equilibrium in the fully Hamiltonian evolution of a dynamical Lorentz gas, by which we mean an ensemble of particles moving through a d-dimensional array of fixed soft scatterers that each possess an internal harmonic or anharmonic degree of freedom to which moving particles locally couple. We analytically predict, and numerically confirm, that the momentum distribution of the moving particles approaches a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution at a certain temperature T, provided that they are initially fast and the scatterers are in a sufficiently energetic but otherwise arbitrary stationary state of their free dynamics-they need not be in a state of thermal equilibrium. The temperature T to which the particles equilibrate obeys a generalized equipartition relation, in which the associated thermal energy kBT is equal to an appropriately defined average of the scatterers' kinetic energy. In the equilibrated state, particle motion is diffusive.

Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
  • Diffusion,
  • Equipartition,
  • Thermal equilibrium
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2011 Springer New York, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Publication Date
01 Jan 2011
Disciplines
Citation Information
Stephan De Bievre and Paul Ernest Parris. "Equilibration, Generalized Equipartition, and Diffusion in Dynamical Lorentz Gases" Journal of Statistical Physics Vol. 142 Iss. 2 (2011) p. 356 - 385 ISSN: 0022-4715
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/paul-parris/36/