Matrix elements of the linear Boltzmann collision operator for systems of two components at different temperatures

Abstract

Matrix elements of the linearized collision operators that arise in the linearization of the Boltzmann equations for a binary gas system are calculated. The collision operators employed here differ from those usually considered in that the Maxwell—Boltzmann distribution functions which appear are parametrized by two different temperatures, one for each component. The matrix representations of the isotropic portion of the collision operators are calculated with the Sonine polynomials as basis functions, and for the hard sphere cross section, recursion relations for the matrix elements are derived which permit their efficient numerical calculation. The dependene of a few matrix elements on the mass and temperature ratios of the two components is considered. In particular, the disparate mass limit is investigated and the range of validity of the Fokker—Planck operator as an approximation to the collision operator in this limit is briefly discussed.