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arXiv:2605.13499

On the asymptotic behavior at the kinetic time of a weakly interacting Fermi gas

Peter S. Madsen, Phan Thành Nam, Herbert E. Spohn, Minh-Binh Tran

Published May 13, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the dynamics of a weakly interacting Fermi gas at the kinetic time regime $t\sim λ^{-2}$ where $λ\ll 1$ is the strength of the interaction potential. We prove that if the initial state is close to equilibrium, then the two-point time correlation function of the many-body quantum dynamics can be computed effectively. In fact, we show that its leading order behavior is determined completely by the collisional frequency of the Boltzmann-Nordheim collision operator at equilibrium. This settles a prediction by Lukkarinen-Spohn, and thus gives a justification of the quantum Boltzmann equation from many-body quantum mechanics.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2605.13499

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This paper is devoted to the dynamics of a weakly interacting Fermi gas at the kinetic time regime t∼λ−2t\sim λ^{-2}t∼λ−2 where λ≪1λ\ll 1λ≪1 is the strength of the interaction potential. We prove that if the initial state is close to equilibrium, then the two-point time correlation function of the many-body quantum dynamics can be computed effectively. In fact, we show that its leading order behavior is determined completely by the collisional frequency of the Boltzmann-Nordheim collision operator at equilibrium. This settles a prediction by Lukkarinen-Spohn, and thus gives a justification of the quantum Boltzmann equation from many-body quantum mechanics.
Abstract. In this note, we discuss some basic aspects of the dynamics of a homogenous Fermi gas in a weak random potential, under simplifying assumptions on the particle pair interactions. We are particularly interested in studying the delocalizing effects due to the Pauli principle. We derive the kinetic hydrodynamic limit, determined by a linear Boltzmann equation, for the momentum distribution function. Moreover, we prove that if the initial state is quasifree, then the time evolved state averaged over the randomness, which is by itself not quasifree, has a quasifree hydrodynamic limit. We show that the momentum distributions determined by the Gibbs states of a free fermion field persist into the diffusive time scale; this includes the limit of zero temperature. 1.
We present an exact solution of the quantum kinetic equation of a weakly interacting Fermi gas in the crossover from the degenerate Fermi-liquid regime to the classical Boltzmann gas. We construct families of orthogonal polynomials tailored to each angular momentum channel, enabling a fast and systematically improvable decomposition of the phase-space distribution. This approach yields accurate, non-variational predictions for the shear viscosity, thermal diffusivity, and spin diffusivity to leading order in the scattering length. We demonstrate that the commonly used relaxation-time approximation fails dramatically at low temperature--by up to 25%. Our method provides a numerically efficient framework for benchmarking transport in strongly correlated regimes and for simulating the kinetics of quantum gases beyond hydrodynamics.
The study of the interplay between interaction-induced correlations and nonequilibrium initial conditions in many-body systems has recently attracted a lot of attention. New experimental techniques provide high control over many-body systems and systematic access to their nonequilibrium regime. In many systems the nonequilibrium properties of a Fermi liquid can be relevant. A first approach to their understanding is the main content of this thesis. At the beginning, nonequilibrium phenomena, Landau's theory of a Fermi liquid, the Hubbard model, time evolution in quantum mechanics, related experiments, and the flow equation method are reviewed. The key observation of this thesis, namely a characteristic mismatch of expectation values in equilibrium and nonequilibrium, is first illustrated for the squeezed oscillator. For this one-particle model Hamiltonian the perturbative approach can be compared with the exact solution and it is shown that the mismatch holds even beyond perturbation theory. Afterwards these observations are generalized to a larger class of one-particle models. Then the nonequilibrium behavior of a Fermi liquid is examined by analyzing the Fermi liquid phase of the Hubbard model in more than one dimension. After a sudden switch-on of a weak two-particle interaction to the noninteracting Fermi gas the relaxation of the many-body system is observed. For this purpose, the flow equation transformation is implemented for the Hubbard Hamiltonian. Then the discussion of the momentum distribution function and of the kinetic energy displays a three-step relaxation behavior of the Fermi liquid from the initial perturbation until thermalization is reached. Firstly, the sudden switch inserts excitation energy into the system which drives the following dynamics. Then a rapid initial build-up of correlations is caused by initial dephasing and leads to the establishment of a quasiparticle picture. By that the system enters into a quasi-stationary state which can be long-lasting for weak interaction. This state shows prethermalization of the kinetic energy which already has relaxed to its final values. However, the momentum distribution still resembles a zero temperature Fermi liquid. Its later relaxation on a second time scale is caused by a residual two-particle interaction which allows for scattering processes and can be described by a quantum Boltzmann equation. The physical origin of this delayed relaxation can be traced back to an interplay of translational invariance of the Hubbard model and the Pauli principle for fermions; together they restrict the phase space for scattering events. Comparing with similar work I conjecture on the generic nature of the findings made for the quenched Fermi liquid in other many-body systems. Finally I point out to the potential relevance of the delayed relaxation for the observation of further nonequilibrium phenomena, for instance in BCS systems. In order to extend the study of sudden switching to arbitrary switching processes the calculation is repeated using the Keldysh perturbation theory. First evaluations for a linear increase of the interaction strength are given. Extensions of this work are suggested and may motivate further research.
Motivated by the recent interest in nonequilibrium phenomena in quantum many-body systems, we study strongly interacting fermions on a lattice by deriving and numerically solving quantum Boltzmann equations that describe their relaxation to thermodynamic equilibrium. The derivation is carried out by inspecting the hierarchy of correlations within the framework of the 1/Z1/Z1/Z expansion. Applying the Markov approximation, we obtain the dynamic equations for the distribution functions. Interestingly, we find that in the strong-coupling limit, collisions between particles and holes dominate over particle-particle and hole-hole collisions---in stark contrast to weakly interacting systems. As a consequence, our numerical simulations show that the relaxation timescales strongly depend on the type of excitations (particles or holes or both) that are initially present.
After a sudden disruption, weakly interacting quantum systems first relax to a prethermalized state that can be described by perturbation theory and a generalized Gibbs ensemble. Using these properties of the prethermalized state we perturbatively derive a kinetic equation which becomes a quantum Boltzmann equation in the scaling limit of vanishing interaction. Applying this to interaction quenches in the fermionic Hubbard model we find that the momentum distribution relaxes to the thermal prediction of statistical mechanics. For not too large interaction, this two-stage scenario provides a quantitative understanding of the time evolution leading from the initial pure via a metastable prethermal to the final thermal state.
A bstract We study the kinetic theory of a weakly interacting quantum field. Assuming a state that is close to homogeneous and stationary, we derive a closed kinetic equation for the rate of change of the occupation numbers, perturbatively in the coupling. For a dilute gas, this reproduces the quantum Boltzmann equation, which only accounts for two-to-two scattering processes. Our expression goes beyond this, with terms accounting for multi-particle scattering processes, which are higher order in the density.