The Schr\"odinger Equation in the Mean-Field and Semiclassical Regime

In this paper, we establish (1) the classical limit of the Hartree equation leading to the Vlasov equation, (2) the classical limit of the $N$-body linear Schr\"{o}dinger equation uniformly in N leading to the N-body Liouville equation of classical mechanics and (3) the simultaneous mean-field and classical limit of the N-body linear Schr\"{o}dinger equation leading to the Vlasov equation. In all these limits, we assume that the gradient of the interaction potential is Lipschitz continuous. All our results are formulated as estimates involving a quantum analogue of the Monge-Kantorovich distance of exponent 2 adapted to the classical limit, reminiscent of, but different from the one defined in [F. Golse, C. Mouhot, T. Paul, Commun. Math. Phys. 343 (2016), 165-205]. As a by-product, we also provide bounds on the quadratic Monge-Kantorovich distances between the classical densities and the Husimi functions of the quantum density matrices.Comment: 33 page

Optimal Regularizing Effect for Scalar Conservation Laws

We investigate the regularity of bounded weak solutions of scalar conservation laws with uniformly convex flux in space dimension one, satisfying an entropy condition with entropy production term that is a signed Radon measure. The proof is based on the kinetic formulation of scalar conservation laws and on an interaction estimate in physical space.Comment: 24 pages, assumption (11) in Theorem 3.1 modified together with the example on p. 7, one remark added after the proof of Lemma 4.3, some typos correcte

On the distribution of free-path lengths for the periodic Lorentz gas III

In a flat 2-torus with a disk of diameter $r$ removed, let $\Phi_r(t)$ be the distribution of free-path lengths (the probability that a segment of length larger than $t$ with uniformly distributed origin and direction does not meet the disk). We prove that $\Phi_r(t/r)$ behaves like $\frac{2}{\pi^2 t}$ for each $t>2$ and in the limit as $r\to 0^+$, in some appropriate sense. We then discuss the implications of this result in the context of kinetic theory.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Commun. Math. Phy

On the Periodic Lorentz Gas and the Lorentz Kinetic Equation

We prove that the Boltzmann-Grad limit of the Lorentz gas with periodic distribution of scatterers cannot be described with a linear Boltzmann equation. This is at variance with the case of a Poisson distribution of scatterers, for which the convergence to the linear Boltzmann equation has been proved by Gallavotti [Phys. Rev. (2) 185 (1969), p. 308]

The Incompressible Euler Limit of the Boltzmann Equation with Accommodation Boundary Condition

The convergence of solutions of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations set in a domain with boundary to solutions of the Euler equations in the large Reynolds number limit is a challenging open problem both in 2 and 3 space dimensions. In particular it is distinct from the question of existence in the large of a smooth solution of the initial-boundary value problem for the Euler equations. The present paper proposes three results in that direction. First, if the solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations satisfy a slip boundary condition with vanishing slip coefficient in the large Reynolds number limit, we show by an energy method that they converge to the classical solution of the Euler equations on its time interval of existence. Next we show that the incompressible Navier-Stokes limit of the Boltzmann equation with Maxwell's accommodation condition at the boundary is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations with slip boundary condition, and we express the slip coefficient at the fluid level in terms of the accommodation parameter at the kinetic level. This second result is formal, in the style of [Bardos-Golse-Levermore, J. Stat. Phys. 63 (1991), 323-344]. Finally, we establish the incompressible Euler limit of the Boltzmann equation set in a domain with boundary with Maxwell's accommodation condition assuming that the accommodation parameter is small enough in terms of the Knudsen number. Our proof uses the relative entropy method following closely the analysis in [L. Saint-Raymond, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 166 (2003), 47-80] in the case of the 3-torus, except for the boundary terms, which require special treatment.Comment: 40 page

The Steady Boltzmann and Navier-Stokes Equations

The paper discusses the similarities and the differences in the mathematical theories of the steady Boltzmann and incompressible Navier-Stokes equations posed in a bounded domain. First we discuss two different scaling limits in which solutions of the steady Boltzmann equation have an asymptotic behavior described by the steady Navier-Stokes Fourier system. Whether this system includes the viscous heating term depends on the ratio of the Froude number to the Mach number of the gas flow. While the steady Navier-Stokes equations with smooth divergence-free external force always have at least one smooth solutions, the Boltzmann equation with the same external force set in the torus, or in a bounded domain with specular reflection of gas molecules at the boundary may fail to have any solution, unless the force field is identically zero. Viscous heating seems to be of key importance in this situation. The nonexistence of any steady solution of the Boltzmann equation in this context seems related to the increase of temperature for the evolution problem, a phenomenon that we have established with the help of numerical simulations on the Boltzmann equation and the BGK model.Comment: 55 pages, 4 multiple figure

The Boltzmann-Grad limit of the periodic Lorentz gas in two space dimensions

The periodic Lorentz gas is the dynamical system corresponding to the free motion of a point particle in a periodic system of fixed spherical obstacles of radius $r$ centered at the integer points, assuming all collisions of the particle with the obstacles to be elastic. In this Note, we study this motion on time intervals of order $1/r$ and in the limit as $r\to 0^+$, in the case of two space dimensions