Experimental evidence for molecular chaos in granular gases

We present measurements showing the presence and the absence of molecular chaos in a two-layer vertically vibrated granular media where a plate drives a horizontal layer of massive grains, which, in turn, drives a second horizontal layer of lighter grains above the first. In the first layer driven by the plate, the velocities are spatially correlated. In the second layer, we find uncorrelated velocities consistent with the presence of molecular chaos. In this experiment, energy injection that is randomized in both space and time throughout the shaking cycle is necessary for observing molecular chaos and "kinetic theory"-like behavior. At higher densities, excluded volume effects force velocity correlations in the system which is no longer "gaslike" in behavior.