M. I. García de Soria

Mesoscopic theory of critical fluctuations in isolated granular gases

Fluctuating hydrodynamics is used to describe the total energy fluctuations of a freely evolving gas of inelastic hard spheres near the threshold of the clustering instability. They are shown to be governed only by vorticity fluctuations that also lead to a renormalization of the average total energy. The theory predicts a power-law divergent behavior of the scaled second moment of the fluctuations, and a scaling property of their probability distribution, both in agreement with simulations results. A more quantitative comparison between theory and simulation for the critical amplitudes and the form of the scaling function is also carried out.

Hydrodynamic modes, Green–Kubo relations, and velocity correlations in dilute granular gases

It is shown that the hydrodynamic modes of a dilute granular gas of inelastic hard spheres can be identified, and calculated in the long wavelength limit. Assuming they dominate at long times, formal expressions for the Navier–Stokes transport coefficients are derived. They can be expressed in a form that generalizes the Green–Kubo relations for molecular systems, and it is shown that they can also be evaluated by means of N-particle simulation methods. The form of the hydrodynamic modes to zeroth order in the gradients is used to detect the presence of inherent velocity correlations in the homogeneous cooling state, even in the low density limit. They manifest themselves in the fluctuations of the total energy of the system. The theoretical predictions are shown to be in agreement with molecular dynamics simulations. Relevant related questions deserving further attention are pointed out.

Breakdown of the fluctuation-dissipation relations in granular gases

A numerical molecular dynamics experiment measuring the two-time correlation function of the transversal velocity field in the homogeneous cooling state of a granular gas modeled as an ensemble of inelastic hard particles is reported. By measuring the decay rate and the amplitude of the correlations, the accuracy of the Landau-Langevin equation of fluctuating hydrodynamics is checked. The results indicate that although a Langevin approach can be valid, the fluctuation-dissipation relation must be modified, since the viscosity parameter appearing in it differs from the usual hydrodynamic shear viscosity.

Breakdown of hydrodynamics in the inelastic Maxwell model of granular gases.

Both the right and left eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the linearized homogeneous Boltzmann equation for inelastic Maxwell molecules corresponding to the hydrodynamic modes are calculated. Also, some nonhydrodynamic modes are identified. It is shown that below a critical value of the parameter characterizing the inelasticity, one of the kinetic modes decays slower than one of the hydrodynamic ones. As a consequence, a closed hydrodynamic description does not exist in that regime. Some implications of this behavior on the formally computed Navier-Stokes transport coefficients are discussed.

Scaling and aging in the homogeneous cooling state of a granular fluid of hard particles

The presence of the aging phenomenon in the homogeneous cooling state (HCS) of a granular fluid composed of inelastic hard spheres or disks is investigated. As a consequence of the scaling property of the N-particle distribution function, it is obtained that the decay of the normalized two-time correlation functions slows down as the time elapsed since the beginning of the measurement increases. This result is confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations for the particular case of the total energy of the system. The agreement is also quantitative in the low density limit, for which an explicit analytical form of the time correlation function has been derived. Moreover, the reported results provide support for the existence of the HCS as a solution of the N-particle Liouville equation.

Boltzmann kinetic equation for a strongly confined gas of hard spheres

A Boltzmann-like kinetic equation for a quasi-two-dimensional gas of hard spheres is derived. The system is confined between two parallel hard plates separated a distance between one and two particle diameters. An entropy Lyapunov function for the equation is identified. In addition to the usual Boltzmann expression, it contains a contribution associated to the confinement of the particles. The steady properties of the system agree with equilibrium statistical mechanics results. Equations describing the energy transfer between the degrees of freedom parallel and perpendicular to the confining plates are obtained for some simple initial configurations. The theoretical predictions are compared with molecular dynamics simulation data and a good agreement is found.

Kinetic equation and nonequilibrium entropy for a quasi-two-dimensional gas

A kinetic equation for a dilute gas of hard spheres confined between two parallel plates separated a distance smaller than two particle diameters is derived. It is a Boltzmann-like equation, which incorporates the effect of the confinement on the particle collisions. A function S(t) is constructed by adding to the Boltzmann expression a confinement contribution. Then it is shown that for the solutions of the kinetic equation, S(t) increases monotonically in time, until the system reaches a stationary inhomogeneous state, when S becomes the equilibrium entropy of the confined system as derived from equilibrium statistical mechanics. From the entropy, other equilibrium properties are obtained, and molecular dynamics simulations are used to verify some of the theoretical predictions.

Fluctuating Navier-Stokes equations for inelastic hard spheres or disks

Starting from the fluctuating Boltzmann equation for smooth inelastic hard spheres or disks, closed equations for the fluctuating hydrodynamic fields to Navier-Stokes order are derived. This requires deriving constitutive relations for both the fluctuating fluxes and the correlations of the random forces. The former are identified as having the same form as the macroscopic average fluxes and involving the same transport coefficients. On the other hand, the random force terms exhibit two peculiarities as compared with their elastic limit for molecular systems. First, they are not white but have some finite relaxation time. Second, their amplitude is not determined by the macroscopic transport coefficients but involves new coefficients.

Which reference state for a granular gas heated by the stochastic thermostat

We study the time evolution of the one-particle distribution function of a granular gas heated by the stochastic thermostat. It is found that, for a wide class of homogeneous initial conditions, memory of the initial conditions is rapidly erased and the system approaches the stationary state through a hydrodynamic state in which all the time dependence of the distribution function goes through the temperature. As a consequence, the simple one parameter scaling velocity distributions reported earlier in this context do not suffice, and a two parameter scaling is required. We find a very good agreement between the theoretical prediction and DSMC simulation results.

The Enskog Equation for Confined Elastic Hard Spheres

A kinetic equation for a system of elastic hard spheres or disks confined by a hard wall of arbitrary shape is derived. It is a generalization of the modified Enskog equation in which the effects of the confinement are taken into account and it is supposed to be valid up to moderate densities. From the equation, balance equations for the hydrodynamic fields are derived, identifying the collisional transfer contributions to the pressure tensor and heat flux. A Lyapunov functional,