Equilibrium Distribution Function Research Articles

Modelling non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems from the speed-gradient principle.

The application of the speed-gradient (SG) principle to the non-equilibrium distribution systems far away from thermodynamic equilibrium is investigated. The options for applying the SG principle to describe the non-equilibrium transport processes in real-world environments are discussed. Investigation of a non-equilibrium system's evolution at different scale levels via the SG principle allows for a fresh look at the thermodynamics problems associated with the behaviour of the system entropy. Generalized dynamic equations for finite and infinite number of constraints are proposed. It is shown that the stationary solution to the equations, resulting from the SG principle, entirely coincides with the locally equilibrium distribution function obtained by Zubarev. A new approach to describe time evolution of systems far from equilibrium is proposed based on application of the SG principle at the intermediate scale level of the system's internal structure. The problem of the high-rate shear flow of viscous fluid near the rigid plane plate is discussed. It is shown that the SG principle allows closed mathematical models of non-equilibrium processes to be constructed.This article is part of the themed issue 'Horizons of cybernetical physics'.

Lattice Boltzmann modeling of melting of phase change materials in porous media with conducting fins

Based on the averaged energy equation in terms of enthalpy, a modified lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is proposed for simulating melting of phase change materials in porous media with a conducting fin. Different from previous LB models, the present model incorporates the total enthalpy and a free parameter into the equilibrium distribution function, and thus makes it suitable for modeling conjugate heat transfer and has high computational efficiency by avoiding iteration procedure for phase change. To ensure the numerical stability, the multiple-relaxation-time collision scheme is adopted in the model. The model is validated by three benchmark problems. It is found that the numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical solutions and numerical results. In addition, the effect of adding the conducting fin on the melting processes in a porous cavity is investigated. The numerical results indicate that the melting heat transfer can be further enhanced by adding a conducting fin into the porous medium. The melting speed increases as the length of the fin increases and the heat capacity of the fin decreases. However, the vertical position of the fin has no remarkable impact on the melting speed.

Spherical steady-state accretion of a relativistic collisionless gas into a Schwarzschild black hole

In previous work, we derived the most general solution of the collisionless Boltzmann equation describing the accretion of a kinetic gas into a Schwarzschild black hole background, and we gave explicit expressions for the corresponding observables (the current density and stress energy-momentum tensor) in terms of certain integrals over the distribution function. In this article, we numerically compute these integrals for the particular case of the steady-state, spherical symmetric accretion flows which, at infinity, are described by an equilibrium distribution function of given temperature. We analyze in detail the behavior of the observables as a function of the temperature and the radial coordinate, comparing our results with the perfect fluid model of Bondi-Michel accretion.

Calculation of momentum distribution function of a non-thermal fermionic dark matter

The most widely studied scenario in dark matter phenomenology is the thermal WIMP scenario. Inspite of numerous efforts to detect WIMP, till now we have no direct evidence for it. A possible explanation for this non-observation of dark matter could be because of its very feeble interaction strength and hence, failing to thermalise with the rest of the cosmic soup. In other words, the dark matter might be of non-thermal origin where the relic density is obtained by the so-called freeze-in mechanism. Furthermore, if this non-thermal dark matter is itself produced substantially from the decay of another non-thermal mother particle, then their distribution functions may differ in both size and shape from the usual equilibrium distribution function. In this work, we have studied such a non-thermal (fermionic) dark matter scenario in the light of a new type of U(1)B−L model. The U(1)B−L model is interesting, since, besides being anomaly free, it can give rise to neutrino mass by Type II see-saw mechanism. Moreover, as we will show, it can accommodate a non-thermal fermionic dark matter as well. Starting from the collision terms, we have calculated the momentum distribution function for the dark matter by solving a coupled system of Boltzmann equations. We then used it to calculate the final relic abundance, as well as other relevant physical quantities. We have also compared our result with that obtained from solving the usual Boltzmann (or rate) equations directly in terms of comoving number density, Y. Our findings suggest that the latter approximation is valid only in cases where the system under study is close to equilibrium, and hence should be used with caution.

On the effect of neoclassical flows on intrinsic momentum in ASDEX Upgrade Ohmic L-mode plasmas

A gyro-kinetic analysis of intrinsic rotation is presented for the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The gyro-kinetic turbulence code, GKW and the neoclassical transport code, NEO are coupled so that the neoclassical equilibrium distribution function is included in the background distribution function in the gyro-kinetic turbulence simulation. This implementation is benchmarked against a similar implementation in the gyro-kinetic code, GS2 (Dorland et al 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 5579) and against analytical predictions.A quasi-linear and non-linear gyro-kinetic turbulence analysis is performed on Ohmic L-mode ASDEX Upgrade plasmas showing that the symmetry breaking effects due to neoclassical background flows can produce significant toroidal momentum transport. While its magnitude is of the order of other symmetry breaking mechanisms, such as the Coriolis pinch, up–down asymmetry in the magnetic flux surfaces and flow shear, the flow gradients it can sustain are appreciably smaller than the maximum gradients measured at the mid-radius of the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak core, which can be up to an order of magnitude larger.It is found that the gradient of the diamagnetic flow, and therefore the second derivatives of the density and temperature gradients are critical to the production of residual toroidal momentum flux. A quasi-linear estimate indicated that the second derivatives required to match the experimental flow gradient are up to an order of magnitude higher than the measured second derivatives. This analysis suggests that turbulent transport driven by neoclassical flows is not sufficient to explain the maximum flow gradients observed in ASDEX Upgrade.

Numerical Simulation of a Class of Nonlinear Wave Equations by Lattice Boltzmann Method

In this paper, we develop a lattice Boltzmann model for a class of one-dimensional nonlinear wave equations, including the second-order hyperbolic telegraph equation, the nonlinear Klein–Gordon equation, the damped and undamped sine-Gordon equation and double sine-Gordon equation. By choosing properly the conservation condition between the macroscopic quantity \(u_t\) and the distribution functions and applying the Chapman–Enskog expansion, the governing equation is recovered correctly from the lattice Boltzmann equation. Moreover, the local equilibrium distribution function is obtained. The results of numerical examples have been compared with the analytical solutions to confirm the good accuracy and the applicability of our scheme.

Kinetic analysis of spin current contribution to spectrum of electromagnetic waves in spin-1/2 plasma. I. Dielectric permeability tensor for magnetized plasmas

The dielectric permeability tensor for spin polarized plasmas is derived in terms of the spin-1/2 quantum kinetic model in six-dimensional phase space. Expressions for the distribution function and spin distribution function are derived in linear approximations on the path of dielectric permeability tensor derivation. The dielectric permeability tensor is derived the spin-polarized degenerate electron gas. It is also discussed at the finite temperature regime, where the equilibrium distribution function is presented by the spin-polarized Fermi-Dirac distribution. Consideration of the spin-polarized equilibrium states opens possibilities for the kinetic modeling of the thermal spin current contribution in the plasma dynamics.

An Alternative Lattice Boltzmann Model for Incompressible Flows and its Stabilization

AbstractIn this paper, an alternative lattice Boltzmann (LB)model for incompressible flows is proposed. By modifying directly the moments of the equilibrium distribution function (EDF), the continuous expression of the EDF in tensor Hermite polynomials is derived using the moment expansion and then discretizedwith the discrete velocity vectors of the D2Q9 lattice. The present model as well as its counterpart, the incompressible LB model proposed by Guo, reproduces the incompressible Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations for both steady and unsteady flows. Besides, an alternative pressure formula, which represents the pressure as the diagonal part of the stress tensor, is adopted in the present model. Furthermore, in order to enhance the stability of the present LB model, an additional relaxation time pertaining to the non-hydrodynamic mode is added to the BGK collision operator. The present LB model is validated by two benchmark tests: the cavity flow with different Reynolds number (Re) and the flow past an impulsively started cylinder at Re=40 and 550.

Lattice Boltzmann model for a generalized Gardner equation with time-dependent variable coefficients

In this paper, lattice Boltzmann model for a generalized Gardner equation with time-dependent variable coefficients, which can provide some more realistic models than their constant-coefficient counterparts, is derived through selecting equilibrium distribution function and adding the compensate function, appropriately. Effects and approximate value range of the free parameters, which are introduced to adjust the single relaxation time and equilibrium distribution function, are discussed in detail, as well as the impact of the lattice space step and velocity. Numerical simulations in different situations of this equation are conducted, including the propagation and interaction of the solitons, the evolution of the non-propagating soliton and the propagation of the double-pole solutions. It is found that the numerical results match well with the analytical solutions, which demonstrates that the current lattice Boltzmann model is a satisfactory and efficient algorithm.

Comparative study of discrete velocity method and high-order lattice Boltzmann method for simulation of rarefied flows

Abstract A comparative study of discrete velocity method (DVM) and high-order lattice Boltzmann method (HLBM) is made in this work. The key difference between the DVM and HLBM lies in the use of equilibrium distribution function and discrete velocity. In the DVM, the complete Maxwellian distribution function or the Shakhov distribution function is used and the discrete velocity is to represent the continuous velocity domain in the particle velocity space. As a result, the integral forms for the moments of distribution function are approximated by numerical integration. In order to make the quadrature error to be small enough, a large number of discrete velocity points are required for the DVM in general case. In contrast, in the HLBM, the lattice Boltzmann model is utilized as the equilibrium distribution function and discrete velocity. The construction of lattice Boltzmann model is intended to seek a minimal set of velocities in the particle velocity space to represent the objective hydrodynamics. With lattice properties of the lattice Boltzmann model, the weighted sums of distribution functions at those velocity points can exactly satisfy the physical conservation laws. However, the choice of discrete velocity points may have considerable effect on the accuracy of HLBM for fluid flows with large Knudsen number as reported in literatures [26, 29–30, 34–36]. From this study, it was found that HLBM provides reasonable results for fluid flows at moderate Knudsen number and low temperature difference with less computational cost than that of DVM. For fluid flows with large Knudsen number and/or high temperature difference, the DVM is preferred although more computational cost is required.

Global gyrokinetic simulations with strong flows

We report on the investigation of strong toroidal rotation effects in a global tokamak code, ORB5. This includes the implementation of a strong flow gyrokinetic Lagrangian, allowing a complete treatment of centrifugal and Coriolis effects in the laboratory frame. In order to consistently perform the linear analysis in this system, an axisymmetric gyrokinetic equilibrium distribution function is defined using the constants of motion: we show it corresponds to the standard choice in the local limit and is close to the neoclassical solution in the banana regime. The energy and momentum transport equations are presented in an analogous form to those for the weak flow system. Linear studies of Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) modes in rotating plasmas are performed to determine how the global effects interact with the effects of strong rotation. We also determine the geodesic acoustic mode dispersion with respect to plasma rotation rate in this gyrokinetic model and compare it to MHD theory.

Numerical schemes for kinetic equation with diffusion limit and anomalous time scale

In this work, we propose numerical schemes for linear kinetic equation, which are able to deal with a diffusion limit and an anomalous time scale of the form \begin{document}${\varepsilon ^2}\left( {1 + \left| {\ln \left( \varepsilon \right)} \right|} \right)$\end{document} . When the equilibrium distribution function is a heavy-tailed function, it is known that for an appropriate time scale, the mean-free-path limit leads either to diffusion or fractional diffusion equation, depending on the tail of the equilibrium. This work deals with a critical exponent between these two cases, for which an anomalous time scale must be used to find a standard diffusion limit. Our aim is to develop numerical schemes which work for the different regimes, with no restriction on the numerical parameters. Indeed, the degeneracy \begin{document}$ \varepsilon\to0$\end{document} makes the kinetic equation stiff. From a numerical point of view, it is necessary to construct schemes able to undertake this stiffness to avoid the increase of computational cost. In this case, it is crucial to capture numerically the effects of the large velocities of the heavy-tailed equilibrium. Moreover, we prove that the convergence towards the diffusion limit happens with two scales, the second being very slow. The schemes we propose are designed to respect this asymptotic behavior. Various numerical tests are performed to illustrate the efficiency of our methods in this context.

Decoupled scheme based on the Hermite expansion to construct lattice Boltzmann models for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations with arbitrary specific heat ratio.

A decoupled scheme based on the Hermite expansion to construct lattice Boltzmann models for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations with arbitrary specific heat ratio is proposed. The local equilibrium distribution function including the rotational velocity of particle is decoupled into two parts, i.e., the local equilibrium distribution function of the translational velocity of particle and that of the rotational velocity of particle. From these two local equilibrium functions, two lattice Boltzmann models are derived via the Hermite expansion, namely one is in relation to the translational velocity and the other is connected with the rotational velocity. Accordingly, the distribution function is also decoupled. After this, the evolution equation is decoupled into the evolution equation of the translational velocity and that of the rotational velocity. The two evolution equations evolve separately. The lattice Boltzmann models used in the scheme proposed by this work are constructed via the Hermite expansion, so it is easy to construct new schemes of higher-order accuracy. To validate the proposed scheme, a one-dimensional shock tube simulation is performed. The numerical results agree with the analytical solutions very well.

Maxwell-Jüttner distribution for rigidly rotating flows in spherically symmetric spacetimes using the tetrad formalism

We consider rigidly rotating states in thermal equilibrium on static spherically symmetric spacetimes. Using the Maxwell-Juttner equilibrium distribution function, onstructed as a solution of the relativistic Boltzmann equation, the equilibrium particle flow four-vector, stress-energy tensor and the transport coefficients in the Marle model are computed. Their properties are discussed in view of the topology of the speed-of-light surface induced by the rotation for two classes of spacetimes: maximally symmetric (Minkowski, de Sitter and anti-de Sitter) and charged (Reissner-Nordstrom) black-hole spacetimes. To facilitate our analysis, we employ a non-holonomic comoving tetrad field, obtained unambiguously by applying a Lorentz boost on a fixed background tetrad.

A simplified thermal lattice Boltzmann method without evolution of distribution functions

In this paper, a simplified thermal lattice Boltzmann method (STLBM) without evolution of the distribution functions is developed for simulating incompressible thermal flows. With the assistance of the fractional step technique, the macroscopic governing equations recovered from Chapman–Enskog (C–E) expansion analysis are resolved through a predictor–corrector scheme. Then in both the predictor and corrector steps, using the isentropic properties of lattice tensors and relationships of C–E analysis, the macroscopic flow variables are explicitly calculated from the equilibrium and non-equilibrium distribution functions. In STLBM, the equilibrium distribution functions are calculated from the macroscopic variables, while the non-equilibrium distribution functions are evaluated from the differences between two equilibrium distribution functions at different locations and time levels. Therefore, STLBM directly updates the macroscopic variables during the computational process, which lowers the virtual memory cost and facilitates the implementation of physical boundary conditions. Through von Neumann stability analysis, the present method is proven to be unconditionally stable, which is further validated by numerical tests. Three representative examples are presented to demonstrate the robustness of STLBM in practical simulations and its flexibility on different types of meshes and boundaries.

A Simplified Lattice Boltzmann Method without Evolution of Distribution Function

AbstractIn this paper, a simplified lattice Boltzmann method (SLBM) without evolution of the distribution function is developed for simulating incompressible viscous flows. This method is developed from the application of fractional step technique to the macroscopic Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations recovered from lattice Boltzmann equation by using Chapman-Enskog expansion analysis. In SLBM, the equilibrium distribution function is calculated from the macroscopic variables, while the non-equilibrium distribution function is simply evaluated from the difference of two equilibrium distribution functions. Therefore, SLBM tracks the evolution of the macroscopic variables rather than the distribution function. As a result, lower virtual memories are required and physical boundary conditions could be directly implemented. Through numerical test at high Reynolds number, the method shows very nice performance in numerical stability. An accuracy test for the 2D Taylor-Green flow shows that SLBM has the second-order of accuracy in space. More benchmark tests, including the Couette flow, the Poiseuille flow as well as the 2D lid-driven cavity flow, are conducted to further validate the present method; and the simulation results are in good agreement with available data in literatures.

A lattice Boltzmann method based on generalized polynomials and its application for electrons in metals

A lattice Boltzmann method is proposed based on the expansion of the equilibrium distribution function in powers of a new set of generalized orthonormal polynomials which are here presented. The new polynomials are orthonormal under the weight defined by the equilibrium distribution function itself. The D-dimensional Hermite polynomials is a sub-case of the present ones, associated to the particular weight of a Gaussian function. The proposed lattice Boltzmann method allows for the treatment of semi-classical fluids, such as electrons in metals under the Drude-Sommerfeld model, which is a particular case that we develop and validate by the Riemann problem.

Comparative study of the lattice Boltzmann models for Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard equations.

In this paper, a comparative study of the lattice Boltzmann (LB) models for the Allen-Cahn (A-C) and Cahn-Hilliard (C-H) equations is conducted. To this end, a new LB model for the A-C equation is first proposed, where the equilibrium distribution function and the source term distribution function are delicately designed to recover the A-C equation correctly. The gradient term in this model can be computed by the nonequilibrium part of the distribution function such that the collision process can be implemented locally. Then a detailed numerical study on several classical problems is performed to give a comparison between the present model for the A-C equation and the recently developed LB model [H. Liang et al., Phys. Rev. E 89, 053320 (2014)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.89.053320] for the C-H equation in terms of tracking the interface of two-phase flow. The results show that the present LB model for the A-C equation is more accurate and more stable, and also has a second-order convergence rate in space, while the convergence rate of the previous LB model for the C-H equation is only about 1.5.

A novel lattice Boltzmann model for the solid–liquid phase change with the convection heat transfer in the porous media

A novel lattice Boltzmann (LB) model with double distribution functions is proposed to simulate the solid–liquid phase change problems with the convection heat transfer in the porous media at the representative elementary volume scale. A generalized LB model is adopted to simulate the velocity field of the liquid region in the presence of the porous media. Based on the framework of a LB model for nonlinear convection–diffusion equation, an LB evolution equation without a phase change source term, as well as a newly modified equilibrium distribution function including the effective total enthalpy and thermal capacity ratio, are constructed to solve the effective total enthalpy energy conservation equation for the porous media. The macroscopic effective total enthalpy energy conservation equation can be exactly recovered from the present LB model by the Chapman–Enskog procedure. As compared with the most previous models, the present model can provide a higher computational efficiency, because the iterative step or linear equations solving procedure for the latent heat source term can be avoided. Furthermore, the temperature and heat flux continuity conditions at the interface between phases of different thermophysical properties are inherently satisfied for the present model. In such a case, the differences in both thermal conductivity and specific heat between phases, as well as the variation of porosity can be tackled by independently adjusting the relaxation time and the thermal capacity ratio included in the equilibrium distribution function, respectively. Additionally, the numerical diffusion across the phase interface for temperature, induced by solid–liquid phase change, can be dramatically reduced in the present model through the MRT collision scheme with a special configuration for the relaxation matrix. Numerical tests for several benchmark problems are carried out to validate the wide practicability and the accuracy of the present model. Very good agreements with analytical solutions or previous experimental and numerical results can be achieved, demonstrating the present model can be served as a promising numerical technique for simulating the transient solid–liquid phase change problems in the porous media.

Solitons of the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation based on lattice Boltzmann model

In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann model for the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation is proposed. By using the Chapman–Enskog expansion and the multi-scale time expansion, a series of partial differential equations in different time scales are obtained. Due to the asymmetry in x direction and y direction of the equation, the moments of the equilibrium distribution function are selected are asymmetric. The numerical results demonstrate the lattice Boltzmann method is an effective method to simulate the solitons of the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation.