An expression for stationary distribution in nonequilibrium steady state

We study the nonequilibrium steady state realized in a general stochastic system attached to multiple heat baths and/or driven by an external force. Starting from the detailed fluctuation theorem we derive concise and suggestive expressions for the corresponding stationary distribution which are correct up to the second order in thermodynamic forces. The probability of a microstate $\eta$ is proportional to $\exp[{\Phi}(\eta)]$ where ${\Phi}(\eta)=-\sum_k\beta_k\mathcal{E}_k(\eta)$ is the excess entropy change. Here $\mathcal{E}_k(\eta)$ is the difference between two kinds of conditioned path ensemble averages of excess heat transfer from the $k$-th heat bath whose inverse temperature is $\beta_k$. Our expression may be verified experimentally in nonequilibrium states realized, for example, in mesoscopic systems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

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 non-hydrodynamic 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.Comment: Submitted to PRL (13/04/10

Chapman-Enskog expansion about nonequilibrium states: the sheared granular fluid

The Chapman-Enskog method of solution of kinetic equations, such as the Boltzmann equation, is based on an expansion in gradients of the deviations fo the hydrodynamic fields from a uniform reference state (e.g., local equilibrium). This paper presents an extension of the method so as to allow for expansions about \emph{arbitrary}, far-from equilibrium reference states. The primary result is a set of hydrodynamic equations for studying variations from the arbitrary reference state which, unlike the usual Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics, does not restrict the reference state in any way. The method is illustrated by application to a sheared granular gas which cannot be studied using the usual Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics.Comment: 23 pages, no figures. Submited to PRE Replaced to correct misc. errors Replaced to correct misc. errors, make notation more consistant, extend discussio

Kinetic Theory of Response Functions for the Hard Sphere Granular Fluid

The response functions for small spatial perturbations of a homogeneous granular fluid have been described recently. In appropriate dimensionless variables, they have the form of stationary state time correlation functions. Here, these functions are expressed in terms of reduced single particle functions that are expected to obey a linear kinetic equation. The functional assumption required for such a kinetic equation, and a Markov approximation for its implementation are discussed. If, in addition, static velocity correlations are neglected, a granular fluid version of the linearized Enskog kinetic theory is obtained. The derivation makes no a priori limitation on the density, space and time scale, nor degree of inelasticity. As an illustration, recently derived Helfand and Green-Kubo expressions for the Navier-Stokes order transport coefficients are evaluated with this kinetic theory. The results are in agreement with those obtained from the Chapman-Enskog solution to the nonlinear Enskog kinetic equation.Comment: Submitted to J. Stat. Mec

Transport properties of dense dissipitive hard-sphere fluids for arbitrary energy loss models

The revised Enskog approximation for a fluid of hard spheres which lose energy upon collision is discussed for the case that the energy is lost from the normal component of the velocity at collision but is otherwise arbitrary. Granular fluids with a velocity-dependent coefficient of restitution are an important special case covered by this model. A normal solution to the Enskog equation is developed using the Chapman-Enskog expansion. The lowest order solution describes the general homogeneous cooling state and a generating function formalism is introduced for the determination of the distribution function. The first order solution, evaluated in the lowest Sonine approximation, provides estimates for the transport coefficients for the Navier-Stokes hydrodynamic description. All calculations are performed in an arbitrary number of dimensions.Comment: 27 pages + 1 figur

Phase diagram and universality of the Lennard-Jones gas-liquid system

The gas-liquid phase transition of the three-dimensional Lennard-Jones particles system is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The gas and liquid densities in the coexisting state are determined with high accuracy. The critical point is determined by the block density analysis of the Binder parameter with the aid of the law of rectilinear diameter. From the critical behavior of the gas-liquid coexsisting density, the critical exponent of the order parameter is estimated to be $\beta = 0.3285(7)$. Surface tension is estimated from interface broadening behavior due to capillary waves. From the critical behavior of the surface tension, the critical exponent of the correlation length is estimated to be $\nu = 0.63 (4)$. The obtained values of $\beta$ and $\nu$ are consistent with those of the Ising universality class.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, new results are adde

A dynamical theory of homogeneous nucleation for colloids and macromolecules

Homogeneous nucleation is formulated within the context of fluctuating hydrodynamics. It is shown that for a colloidal or macromolecular system in the strong damping limit the most likely path for nucleation can be determined by gradient descent in density space governed by a nontrivial metric fixed by the dynamics. The theory provides a justification and extension of more heuristic equilibrium approaches based solely on the free energy. It is illustrated by application to liquid-vapor nucleation where it is shown that, in contrast to most free energy-based studies, the smallest clusters correspond to long wavelength, small amplitude perturbations.Comment: final version; 4 pages, 2 figure

The law of action and reaction for the effective force in a nonequilibrium colloidal system

We study a nonequilibrium Langevin many-body system containing two 'test' particles and many 'background' particles. The test particles are spatially confined by a harmonic potential, and the background particles are driven by an external driving force. Employing numerical simulations of the model, we formulate an effective description of the two test particles in a nonequilibrium steady state. In particular, we investigate several different definitions of the effective force acting between the test particles. We find that the law of action and reaction does not hold for the total mechanical force exerted by the background particles, but that it does hold for the thermodynamic force defined operationally on the basis of an idea used to extend the first law of thermodynamics to nonequilibrium steady states.Comment: 13 page

Mass transport of an impurity in a strongly sheared granular gas

Transport coefficients associated with the mass flux of an impurity immersed in a granular gas under simple shear flow are determined from the inelastic Boltzmann equation. A normal solution is obtained via a Chapman-Enskog-like expansion around a local shear flow distribution that retains all the hydrodynamic orders in the shear rate. Due to the anisotropy induced by the shear flow, tensorial quantities are required to describe the diffusion process instead of the conventional scalar coefficients. The mass flux is determined to first order in the deviations of the hydrodynamic fields from their values in the reference state. The corresponding transport coefficients are given in terms of the solutions of a set of coupled linear integral equations, which are approximately solved by considering the leading terms in a Sonine polynomial expansion. The results show that the deviation of these generalized coefficients from their elastic forms is in general quite important, even for moderate dissipation.Comment: 6 figure