Convergence to equilibrium in a system of reacting polymers

Chemical kinetics of a system of reacting polymers is modelled by an equation which shares certain properties with Boltzmann's equation. Being more tractable, however, this evolution may be of an illustrative value for the latter. The existence and uniqueness of solutions are analysed. We derive an entropy production inequality which is used to prove global exponential decay of the free energy. With its aid a uniform rate for strong convergence to equilibrium is proven. The generators of the linearlized flow at the vicinity of the equilibria are diagonalized.Work partly supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant MCS 75-21684 A02