Two temperature gas equilibration model with a Fokker-Planck type collision operator

Abstract

The equilibration process of a binary mixture of gases with two different temperatures is revisited using a Fokker-Planck type equation. The collision integral term of the Boltzmann equation is approximated by a Fokker-Planck differential collision operator by assuming that one of the constituents can be considered as a background gas in equilibrium while the other species diffuses through it. As a main result the coefficients of the linear term and of the first derivative are modified by the temperature and kinetic energy difference of the two species. These modifications are expected to influence the form of the solution for the distribution function and the corresponding transport equations. When temperatures are equal, the usual result of a Rayleigh gas is recovered.