Free cooling and inelastic collapse of granular gases in high dimensions

The connection between granular gases and sticky gases has recently been considered, leading to the conjecture that inelastic collapse is avoided for space dimensions higher than 4. We report Molecular Dynamics simulations of hard inelastic spheres in dimensions 4, 5 and 6. The evolution of the granular medium is monitored throughout the cooling process. The behaviour is found to be very similar to that of a two-dimensional system, with a shearing-like instability of the velocity field and inelastic collapse when collisions are inelastic enough, showing that the connection with sticky gases needs to be revised.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures (7 postscript files), submitted to EPJ

The rich behavior of the Boltzmann equation for dissipative gases

Within the framework of the homogeneous non-linear Boltzmann equation, we present a new analytic method, without the intrinsic limitations of existing methods, for obtaining asymptotic solutions. This method permits extension of existing results for Maxwell molecules and hard spheres to large classes of particle interactions, from very hard spheres to softer than Maxwell molecules, as well as to more general forcing mechanisms, beyond free cooling and white noise driving. By combining this method with numerical solutions, obtained from the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, we study a broad class of models relevant for the dynamics of dissipative fluids, including granular gases. We establish a criterion connecting the stability of the non-equilibrium steady state to an exponentially bound form for the velocity distribution $F$, which varies depending on the forcing mechanism. Power laws arise in marginal stability cases, of which several new cases are reported. Our results provide a minimal framework for interpreting large classes of experiments on driven granular gases

Boltzmann equation for dissipative gases in homogeneous states with nonlinear friction

Combining analytical and numerical methods, we study within the framework of the homogeneous non-linear Boltzmann equation, a broad class of models relevant for the dynamics of dissipative fluids, including granular gases. We use the new method presented in a previous paper [J. Stat. Phys. 124, 549 (2006)] and extend our results to a different heating mechanism, namely a deterministic non-linear friction force. We derive analytically the high energy tail of the velocity distribution and compare the theoretical predictions with high precision numerical simulations. Stretched exponential forms are obtained when the non-equilibrium steady state is stable. We derive sub-leading corrections and emphasize their relevance. In marginal stability cases, power-law behaviors arise, with exponents obtained as the roots of transcendental equations. We also consider some simple BGK (Bhatnagar, Gross, Krook) models, driven by similar heating devices, to test the robustness of our predictions

Relaxation in yield stress systems through elastically interacting activated events

We study consequences of long-range elasticity in thermally assisted dynamics of yield stress materials. Within a two-dimensinal mesoscopic model we calculate the mean-square displacement and the dynamical structure factor for tracer particle trajectories. The ballistic regime at short time scales is associated with a compressed exponential decay in the dynamical structure factor, followed by a subdiffusive crossover prior to the onset of diffusion. We relate this crossover to spatiotemporal correlations and thus go beyond established mean field predictions.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PR

On the definition of temperature in dense granular media

In this Letter we report the measurement of a pseudo-temperature for compacting granular media on the basis of the Fluctuation-Dissipation relations in the aging dynamics of a model system. From the violation of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem an effective temperature emerges (a dynamical temperature T_{dyn}) whose ratio with the equilibrium temperature T_d^{eq} depends on the particle density. We compare the results for the Fluctuation-Dissipation Ratio (FDR) T_{dyn}/T_d^{eq} at several densities with the outcomes of Edwards' approach at the corresponding densities. It turns out that the FDR and the so-called Edwards' ratio coincide at several densities (very different ages of the system), opening in this way the door to experimental checks as well as theoretical constructions.Comment: RevTex4 4 pages, 4 eps figure

Power injected in a granular gas

A granular gas may be modeled as a set of hard-spheres undergoing inelastic collisions; its microscopic dynamics is thus strongly irreversible. As pointed out in several experimental works bearing on turbulent flows or granular materials, the power injected in a dissipative system to sustain a steady-state over an asymptotically large time window is a central observable. We describe an analytic approach allowing us to determine the full distribution of the power injected in a granular gas within a steady-state resulting from subjecting each particle independently either to a random force (stochastic thermostat) or to a deterministic force proportional to its velocity (Gaussian thermostat). We provide an analysis of our results in the light of the relevance, for other types of systems, of the injected power to fluctuation relations.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Contribution to Proceedings of "Work, Dissipation, and Fluctuations in Nonequilibrium Physics", Brussels, 200

Injected power and entropy flow in a heated granular gas

Our interest goes to the power injected in a heated granular gas and to the possibility to interpret it in terms of entropy flow. We numerically determine the distribution of the injected power by means of Monte-Carlo simulations. Then, we provide a kinetic theory approach to the computation of such a distribution function. Finally, after showing why the injected power does not satisfy a Fluctuation Relation a la Gallavotti-Cohen, we put forward a new quantity which does fulfill such a relation, and is not only applicable in a variety of frameworks outside the granular world, but also experimentally accessible.Comment: accepted in Europhys. Let

Fluctuations of power injection in randomly driven granular gases

We investigate the large deviation function pi(w) for the fluctuations of the power W(t)=w t, integrated over a time t, injected by a homogeneous random driving into a granular gas, in the infinite time limit. Starting from a generalized Liouville equation we obtain an equation for the generating function of the cumulants mu(lambda) which appears as a generalization of the inelastic Boltzmann equation and has a clear physical interpretation. Reasonable assumptions are used to obtain mu(lambda) in a closed analytical form. A Legendre transform is sufficient to get the large deviation function pi(w). Our main result, apart from an estimate of all the cumulants of W(t) at large times t, is that pi(w) has no negative branch. This immediately results in the failure of the Gallavotti-Cohen Fluctuation Relation (GCFR), that in previous studies had been suggested to be valid for injected power in driven granular gases. We also present numerical results, in order to discuss the finite time behavior of the fluctuations of W(t). We discover that their probability density function converges extremely slowly to its asymptotic scaling form: the third cumulant saturates after a characteristic time larger than 50 mean free times and the higher order cumulants evolve even slower. The asymptotic value is in good agreement with our theory. Remarkably, a numerical check of the GCFR is feasible only at small times, since negative events disappear at larger times. At such small times this check leads to the misleading conclusion that GCFR is satisfied for pi(w). We offer an explanation for this remarkable apparent verification. In the inelastic Maxwell model, where a better statistics can be achieved, we are able to numerically observe the failure of GCFR.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure

Memory in aged granular media

Stimulated by recent experimental results, we simulate ``temperature''-cycling experiments in a model for the compaction of granular media. We report on the existence of two types of memory effects: short-term dependence on the history of the sample, and long-term memory for highly compact (aged) systems. A natural interpretation of these results is provided by the analysis of the density heterogeneities.Comment: 5 eps figures, uses euromacr.tex and europhys.sty (included