On the derivation of quantum kinetic equations. I. Collision expansions

Th. Bornath, D. Kremp, W. D. Kraeft +1 more

In the framework of real-time Green's functions, the general kinetic equations are investigated in a first-order gradient expansion. Within this approximation, the problem of the reconstruction of the two-time correlation functions from the one-time Wigner function was solved. For the Wigner function, a cluster expansion is found in terms of a quasiparticle distribution function. In equilibrium, this expansion leads to the well-known generalized Beth-Uhlenbeck expression of the second virial coefficient. As a special case, the T-matrix approximation for the self-energy is investigated. The quantum kinetic equation derived thus has, besides the (Markovian) Boltzmann collision integral, additional terms due to the retardation expansion which reflect memory effects. Special interest is paid to the case that bound states exist in the system. It is shown that the bound state contribution, which can be introduced via a bilinear expansion of the two-particle T matrix, follows from the first-order retardation term in the general kinetic equation. The full Wigner function is now a sum of one function describing the unbound particles and another one for the bound state contribution. The latter two functions have to be determined from a coupled set of kinetic equations. In contrast to the quantum Boltzmann equation, energy and density of a nonideal system are conserved. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

V. L. Kon'kov, V. N. Gorshenkov, Е. П. Богданов

Serghey V. Vonsovsky

R. Baier, Tim Stockamp

We use the 2PI effective action of a relativistic scalar field theory to derive kinetic equations for a Bose-condensed system near the phase transition.We start from equations of motion derived within a 1/N-expansion at NLO. In taking the non-relativistic limit we obtain a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the condensate field. Within the Popov approximation we explicitly compute the collision term up to order g^2 using the Kadanoff-Baym formalism. For the sake of self-consistency we derive in the same way a Boltzmann equation for the non-condensate distribution function. The final results are in agreement to those previously obtained by Griffin, Nikuni and Zaremba and by Stoof.

Alexander I. Akhiezer, S. V. Peletminskiǐ

Wagner, David

This thesis provides a detailed derivation of dissipative spin hydrodynamics from quantum field theory for systems composed of spin-0, spin-1/2, or spin-1 particles. The Wigner function formalism is introduced for quantum fields in the respective representations of the Poincaré group, and the conserved currents, i.e., the energy-momentum tensor and the total angular momentum tensor, in various so-called pseudogauges are derived. An expansion around the semiclassical limit in powers of the Planck constant is performed. Subsequently, kinetic equations are obtained for binary elastic scattering, using both the de Groot-van Leeuwen-van Weert and Kadanoff-Baym method, with the latter retaining the effect of quantum statistics. The resulting collision term features both local and nonlocal contributions, with the latter providing a relaxation mechanism for the spin degrees of freedom of the quasiparticles. The local-equilibrium distribution function is derived from the requirement that the local part of the collision term vanishes. From quantum kinetic theory, dissipative spin hydrodynamics is then constructed via the method of moments, extended to particles with spin. The system of moment equations is closed via the Inverse-Reynolds Dominance (IReD) approach, resulting in a set of equations of motion describing the evolution of both ideal and dissipative degrees of freedom. The application to polarization phenomena relevant to heavy-ion collisions is discussed.