Hilbert Expansion from the Boltzmann Equation to Relativistic Fluids

We study the local-in-time hydrodynamic limit of the relativistic Boltzmann equation using a Hilbert expansion. More specifically, we prove the existence of local solutions to the relativistic Boltzmann equation that are nearby the local relativistic Maxwellians. The Maxwellians are constructed from a class of solutions to the relativistic Euler equations that includes a large subclass of near-constant, non-vacuum fluid states. In particular, for small Knudsen number, these solutions to the relativistic Boltzmann equation have dynamics that are effectively captured by corresponding solutions to the relativistic Euler equations.     

Strict entropy production bounds and stability of the rate of convergence to equilibrium for the Boltzmann equation

We first consider the Boltzmann equation with a collision kernel such that all kinematically possible collisions are run at equal rates. This is the simplest Boltzmann equation having the compressible Euler equations as a scaling limit. For it we prove a stability result for theH-theorem which says that when the entropy production is small, the solution of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation is necessarily close to equilibrium in the entropie sense, and therefore strongL ¹ sense. We use this to prove that solutions to the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation converge to equilibrium in the entropie sense with a rate of convergence which is uniform in the initial condition for all initial conditions belonging to certain natural regularity classes. Every initial condition with finite entropy andp ^th velocity moment for some p>2 belongs to such a class. We then extend these results by a simple monotonicity argument to the case where the collision rate is uniformly bounded below, which covers a wide class of slightly modified physical collision kernels. These results are the basis of a study of the relation between scaling limits of solutions of the Boltzmann equation and hydrodynamics which will be developed in subsequent papers; the program is described here.On leave from School of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332.On leave from C.F.M.C. and Departamento de Matemática da Faculdade de Ciencias de Lisboa, 1700 Lisboa codex, Portugal.     

A class of asymptotic-preserving schemes for kinetic equations and related problems with stiff sources

In this paper, we propose a general time-discrete framework to design asymptotic-preserving schemes for initial value problem of the Boltzmann kinetic and related equations. Numerically solving these equations are challenging due to the nonlinear stiff collision (source) terms induced by small mean free or relaxation time. We propose to penalize the nonlinear collision term by a BGK-type relaxation term, which can be solved explicitly even if discretized implicitly in time. Moreover, the BGK-type relaxation operator helps to drive the density distribution toward the local Maxwellian, thus naturally imposes an asymptotic-preserving scheme in the Euler limit. The scheme so designed does not need any nonlinear iterative solver or the use of Wild Sum. It is uniformly stable in terms of the (possibly small) Knudsen number, and can capture the macroscopic fluid dynamic (Euler) limit even if the small scale determined by the Knudsen number is not numerically resolved. It is also consistent to the compressible Navier–Stokes equations if the viscosity and heat conductivity are numerically resolved. The method is applicable to many other related problems, such as hyperbolic systems with stiff relaxation, and high order parabolic equations.     

A hybrid method for hydrodynamic-kinetic flow – Part II – Coupling of hydrodynamic and kinetic models

In this work we present a non stationary domain decomposition algorithm for multiscale hydrodynamic-kinetic problems, in which the Knudsen number may span from equilibrium to highly rarefied regimes. Our approach is characterized by using the full Boltzmann equation for the kinetic regime, the Compressible Euler equations for equilibrium, with a buffer zone in which the BGK-ES equation is used to represent the transition between fully kinetic to equilibrium flows.In this fashion, the Boltzmann solver is used only when the collision integral is non-stiff, and the mean free path is of the same order as the mesh size needed to capture variations in macroscopic quantities. Thus, in principle, the same mesh size and time steps can be used in the whole computation. Moreover, the time step is limited only by convective terms.Since the Boltzmann solver is applied only in wholly kinetic regimes, we use the reduced noise DSMC scheme we have proposed in Part I of the present work. This ensures a smooth exchange of information across the different domains, with a natural way to construct interface numerical fluxes. Several tests comparing our hybrid scheme with full Boltzmann DSMC computations show the good agreement between the two solutions, on a wide range of Knudsen numbers.     

On the asymptotic equivalence between the Enskog and the Boltzmann equations

An asymptotic equivalence theorem is proven between the solutions of the initial value problem in all space for the Boltzmann and Enskog equations for initial data which assure global existence for the solutions to the initial value problem for one of the two equations. The proof is given starting from the solution of the Boltzmann equation, then the proof line is simply indicated when one starts from the Enskog equation. The proof holds for Knudsen numbers of the order of unity and equivalence is proven when the scale of the dimensions of the gas particles characterizing the Enskog equation tends to zero.On leave from Department of Mathematics, University of Warsaw, Poland.     

Comparison of the generalized Riemann solver and the gas-kinetic scheme for inviscid compressible flow simulations

The generalized Riemann problem (GRP) scheme for the Euler equations and gas-kinetic scheme (GKS) for the Boltzmann equation are two high resolution shock capturing schemes for fluid simulations. The difference is that one is based on the characteristics of the inviscid Euler equations and their wave interactions, and the other is based on the particle transport and collisions. The similarity between them is that both methods can use identical MUSCL-type initial reconstructions around a cell interface, and the spatial slopes on both sides of a cell interface involve in the gas evolution process and the construction of a time-dependent flux function. Although both methods have been applied successfully to the inviscid compressible flow computations, their performances have never been compared. Since both methods use the same initial reconstruction, any difference is solely coming from different underlying mechanism in their flux evaluation. Therefore, such a comparison is important to help us to understand the correspondence between physical modeling and numerical performances. Since GRP is so faithfully solving the inviscid Euler equations, the comparison can be also used to show the validity of solving the Euler equations itself. The numerical comparison shows that the GRP exhibits a slightly better computational efficiency, and has comparable accuracy with GKS for the Euler solutions in 1D case, but the GKS is more robust than GRP. For the 2D high Mach number flow simulations, the GKS is absent from the shock instability and converges to the steady state solutions faster than the GRP. The GRP has carbuncle phenomena, likes a cloud hanging over exact Riemann solvers. The GRP and GKS use different physical processes to describe the flow motion starting from a discontinuity. One is based on the assumption of equilibrium state with infinite number of particle collisions, and the other starts from the non-equilibrium free transport process to evolve into an equilibrium one through particle collisions. The different mechanism in the flux evaluation deviates their numerical performance. Through this study, we may conclude scientifically that it may NOT be valid to use the Euler equations as governing equations to construct numerical fluxes in a discretized space with limited cell resolution. To adapt the Navier–Stokes (NS) equations is NOT valid either because the NS equations describe the flow behavior on the hydrodynamic scale and have no any corresponding physics starting from a discontinuity. This fact alludes to the consistency of the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations with the continuum assumption and the necessity of a direct modeling of the physical process in the discretized space in the construction of numerical scheme when modeling very high Mach number flows. The development of numerical algorithm is similar to the modeling process in deriving the governing equations, but the control volume here cannot be shrunk to zero.     

Asymptotic Analysis of a Slightly Rarefied Gas with Nonlocal Boundary Conditions

In this paper nonlocal boundary conditions for the Navier–Stokes equations are derived, starting from the Boltzmann equation in the limit for the Knudsen number being vanishingly small. In the same spirit of (Lombardo et al. in J. Stat. Phys. 130:69–82, 2008) where a nonlocal Poisson scattering kernel was introduced, a gaussian scattering kernel which models nonlocal interactions between the gas molecules and the wall boundary is proposed. It is proved to satisfy the global mass conservation and a generalized reciprocity relation. The asymptotic expansion of the boundary-value problem for the Boltzmann equation, provides, in the continuum limit, the Navier–Stokes equations associated with a class of nonlocal boundary conditions of the type used in turbulence modeling.     

The dynamics of coupled nonlinear model Boltzmann equations

A multispecies gas described by coupled nonlinear Boltzmann equations is studied as a dynamical system. Properties are determined of theN coupled nonlinear ODEs for the number densities obtained from the Boltzmann equations for the spatially uniform system ofN species undergoing binary scattering, removal, and regeneration in the presence of an external force field and a reservoir of background gas. The physically realizable setQ, the nonnegative cone in theN-dimensional phase space of species number densities, is established as invariant under the flow. The fixed-point equations for the ODEs are shown to be equivalent to 2 ^N linear systems, and conditions for the stability and instability of the fixed points are then established. Stable fixed points are demonstrated to exist inQ by showing that they enter via a sequence of transcritical bifurcations as physical parameters are varied. For the two-species case the typical global structure of the solutions is established. Various particular cases are described including one which possesses an infinite family of periodic solutions and one that depends delicately upon initial conditions due to a separatrix that separatesQ into two invariant sets.     

Scaling and Expansion of Moment Equations in Kinetic Theory

The set of generalized 13 moment equations for molecules interacting with power law potentials [Struchtrup, Multiscale Model. Simul. 3:211 (2004)] forms the base for an investigation of expansion methods in the Knudsen number and other scaling parameters. The scaling parameters appear in the equations by introducing dimensionless quantities for all variables and their gradients. Only some of the scaling coefficients can be chosen independently, while others depend on these chosen scales–their size can be deduced from a Chapman–Enskog expansion, or from the principle that a single term in an equation cannot be larger in size by one or several orders of magnitude than all other terms.It is shown that for the least restrictive scaling the new order of magnitude expansion method [Struchtrup, Phys. Fluids 16(11):3921 (2004)] reproduces the original equations after only two expansion steps, while the classical Chapman–Enskog expansion would require an infinite number of steps. Both methods yield the Euler and Navier–Stokes–Fourier equations to zeroth and first order. More restrictive scaling choices, which assume slower time scales, small velocities, or small gradients of temperature, are considered as well.     

On the linearized relativistic Boltzmann equation. II. Existence of hydrodynamics

Solutions are analyzed of the linearized relativistic Boltzmann equation for initial data fromL ²(r, p) in long-time and/or small-mean-free-path limits. In both limits solutions of this equation converge to approximate ones constructed with solutions of the set of differential equations called the equations of relativistic hydrodynamics.     

A class of asymptotic-preserving schemes for the Fokker–Planck–Landau equation

We present a class of asymptotic-preserving (AP) schemes for the nonhomogeneous Fokker–Planck–Landau (nFPL) equation. Filbet and Jin [16] designed a class of AP schemes for the classical Boltzmann equation, by penalization with the BGK operator, so they become efficient in the fluid dynamic regime. We generalize their idea to the nFPL equation, with a different penalization operator, the Fokker–Planck operator that can be inverted by the conjugate-gradient method. We compare the effects of different penalization operators, and conclude that the Fokker–Planck (FP) operator is a good choice. Such schemes overcome the stiffness of the collision operator in the fluid regime, and can capture the fluid dynamic limit without numerically resolving the small Knudsen number. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the schemes possess the AP property for general initial data, with numerical accuracy uniformly in the Knudsen number.     

Hydrodynamic limit of the stationary Boltzmann equation in a slab

We study the stationary solution of the Boltzmann equation in a slab with a constant external force parallel to the boundary and complete accommodation condition on the walls at a specified temperature. We prove that when the force is sufficiently small there exists a solution which converges, in the hydrodynamic limit, to a local Maxwellian with parameters given by the stationary solution of the corresponding compressible Navier-Stokes equations with no-slip boundary conditions. Corrections to this Maxwellian are obtained in powers of the Knudsen number with a controlled remainder.     

Exact solutions of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation

A review is given of research activities since 1976 on the nonlinear Boltzmann equation and related equations of Boltzmann type, in which several rediscoveries have been made and several conjectures have been disproved. Subjects are (i) the BKW solution of the Boltzmann equation for Maxwell molecules, first discovered by Krupp in 1967, and the Krook-Wu conjecture concerning the universal significance of the BKW solution for the large(v, t) behavior of the velocity distribution functionf (v, t); (ii) moment equations and polynomial expansions off (v, t); (iii) model Boltzmann equation for a spatially uniform system of very hard particles, that can be solved in closed form for general initial conditions; (iv) for Maxwell and non-Maxwell-type molecules there exist solutions of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation with algebraic decrease at ; connections with nonuniqueness and violation of conservation laws; (v) conjectured super-H-theorem and the BKW solution; (vi) exactly soluble one-dimensional Boltzmann equation with spatial dependence.Reference due to C. Cercignani.     

多分量流计算的高分辨KFVS有限体积方法

论及高分辨分子动力学通向量分裂（ＫＦＶＳ）有限体积方法的推广。在方法中提出了适当修改Ｍａｘｗｅｌｌ平衡分布用以修复Ｅｕｌｅｒ方程。基于熟知的Ｅｕｌｅｒ方程与Ｂｏｌｔｚｍａｎｎ方程的关系提出了一类求解多分量Ｅｕｌｅｒ方程的高分辨分子动力爱向量分裂（ＫＦＶＳ）有限体积方法,应用该方法不需要求解任何Ｒｉｅｍａｎｎ问题或求附加的非守恒压力方程也需要任何非守恒修正。数值计算表明,数值解在物质界面附近无振荡,     

On the normal solutions of the Boltzmann equation with small Knudsen number

A singular perturbation method is used to find the normal solutions of the Boltzmann equation with small Knudsen number. It is proved that the secular terms may be removed by improving the Hilbert expansion and the Enskog expansion.     

Shock profile solutions of the Boltzmann equation

Shock waves in gas dynamics can be described by the Euler Navier-Stokes, or Boltzmann equations. We prove the existence of shock profile solutions of the Boltzmann equation for shocks which are weak. The shock is written as a truncated expansion in powers of the shock strength, the first two terms of which come exactly from the Taylor tanh (x) profile for the Navier-Stokes solution. The full solution is found by a projection method like the Lyapunov-Schmidt method as a bifurcation from the constant state in which the bifurcation parameter is the difference between the speed of soundc ₀ and the shock speeds.Research supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Air Force of Scientific Research, the Office of Naval Research, and the Department of Energy     

Hydrodynamical limit for a Hamiltonian system with weak noise

Starting from a general hamiltonian system with superstable pairwise potential, we construct a stochastic dynamics by adding a noise term which exchanges the momenta of nearby particles. We prolve that, in the scaling limit, the time conserved quantities, energy, momenta and density, satisfy the Euler equation of conservation laws up to a fixed timet provided that the Euler equation has a smooth solution with a given initial data up to timet. The strength of the noise term is chosen to be very small (but nonvanishing) so that it disappears in the scaling limit.Research partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants DMS 89001682, DMS 920-1222 and a grant from ARO, DAAL03-92-G-0317Research partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants DMS-9101196, DMS-9100383, and PHY-9019433-A01, Sloan Foundation Fellowship and David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship     

A Two-Surface Problem of the Electron Flow in a Semiconductor on the Basis of Kinetic Theory

A steady flow of electrons in a semiconductor between two parallel plane Ohmic contacts is studied on the basis of the semiconductor Boltzmann equation, assuming a relaxation-time collision term, and the Poisson equation for the electrostatic potential. A systematic asymptotic analysis of the Boltzmann–Poisson system for small Knudsen numbers (scaled mean free paths) is carried out in the case where the Debye length is of the same order as the distance between the contacts and where the applied potential is of the same order as the thermal potential. A system of drift-diffusion-type equations and their boundary conditions is obtained up to second order in the Knudsen number. A numerical comparison is made between the obtained system and the original Boltzmann–Poisson system.