A derivation of the quantum-mechanical analog of the Maxwell-Boltzmann equation of transport for gases at low density is presented. The analysis requires: the definition of a time differential which is necessary for the selection of only secular variations in the time dependence of the distribution functions (coarse-graining in time); a binary collision approximation; the connection between the phase-space transformation function, relating the Wigner distribution function at different times, and the transition matrix in the theory of scattering of two particles; and a coarse graining in configuration space leading to a kinetic equation for spatially nonuniform systems. A consequence of the binary collision approximation is the exclusion of the effects of symmetrization (Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac statistics) resulting in density-dependent terms.
A derivation of the quantum-mechanical analog of the Maxwell-Boltzmann equation of transport for gases at low density is presented. The analysis requires: the definition of a time differential which is necessary for the selection of only secular variations in the time dependence of the distribution functions (coarse-graining in time); a binary collision approximation; the connection between the phase-space transformation function, relating the Wigner distribution function at different times, and the transition matrix in the theory of scattering of two particles; and a coarse graining in configuration space leading to a kinetic equation for spatially nonuniform systems. A consequence of the binary collision approximation is the exclusion of the effects of symmetrization (Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac statistics) resulting in density-dependent terms.
Abstract This chapter presents the statistical description of quantum gases: bosons and fermions. The coarse-grained distribution function, measuring the average occupation of each quantum level is the fundamental object under study. In thermal equilibrium, gases obey the Bose—Einstein and Fermi—Dirac distributions. Out of equilibrium, a semiclassical description is adopted where the distribution functions evolve as particles and move among levels. For bosons, the presence of other particles in the final level enhances the transitions (stimulated emission), while for fermions they suppress the transition (Pauli exclusion principle). These effects are included semiclassically in the kinetic equation. It is shown that the quantum kinetic equation gives the correct evolution toward the equilibrium distributions. Phonons are worked out in detail, where the phonon–phonon and phonon–electron interactions affect the energy transport. Finally, lasers and the quark—gluon plasma are analysed in the context of the theory.
This article is the second of a series where we propose a theory of the dynamics of quantum gases with a precise treatment of the short range two body correlations. For this purpose, we use a variant of the Wigner transform, the "free transform" , which has a useful property in this context: if, before collision, two particles are uncorrelated, the incoming part of the free Wigner transform remains always exactly factorized. Therefore, instead of asssuming a factorization of the two particle distribution, it is less restrictive to make a similar assumption on the free transform. Time symmetry is broken when the correlations of the outgoing part of the free transform are ignored; this approximation, which is well in the spirit of Boltzmann, amounts to considering successive collisions as independent processes (the correlations present in the outgoing part could play a role if the same particles rapidly collided again, an unlikely event in dilute gases). Therefore, the succession of collisions is not treated exactly, but each collision is, even during interaction. One then obtains a closed set of equations which leads directly to a kinetic equation for the free distribution $ f $. The equation includes retardation and quantum refraction effects, and provides a generalization of the Boltzmann equation. The reconstruction of the two particle distribution function $ f_{II} $ from $ f $ reintroduces the effects of short range correlations and, more generally, gives the values of all one particle and two particle physical observables. The price to pay for not using the usual one particle distribution is that the relation between the local physical quantities (density of particles, energy density, etc.) becomes more complicated than in the usual theory, and includes terms which are non linear in $ f $. We nevertheless show how this formalism automatically satisfies the local conservation of all hydrodynamic quantities: particle, momentum and energy densities. The pressure tensor includes quadratic terms which correspond to second virial corrections. The temperature of the gas is defined from the kinetic energy of the particles when they are far apart from each other. We finally briefly discuss the connections of this formalism with the classical Enskog theory, or mean field type theories such as the Landau theory (in particular, we note the presence of recoil effects in the "molecular field")
In order to introduce the coarse-grained measurement of coordinates in quantum mechanics, the whole space is divided into cubic cells, and the coordinate of the center of cell is regarded as the coarse-grained coordinate of every point inside the cell. The function which vanishes outside a certain cell and which agrees with plane wave within the same cell is called a cell function. If one imposes a certain type of boundary condition upon such cell functions, the set of these functions is complete and orthonormal, and gives a generalized type of the Wigner distribution functions, from which the coarse-grained distribution functions are derived. The change of the density matrices with time is calculated by means of the method analogous to the time-dependent perturbation theory. From this result the collision terms of the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation are derived on the basis of the equation of motion for the generalized phase-space distribution function, under the assumption that the maximum range of the intermolecular force is sufficiently short compared with the edge length of elementary cell. Owing to the cell funcions employed instead of the plane waves, the distribution functions retain dependence on the spatial coordinates irrespective of the postulate of random a priori phases, which plays an important role in derivation of the collision terms. In the present article, this postulate is necessary for derivation of the stresming terms, in which the differentiation operators with respect to the coarse-grained coordinates and the coarse-grained distribution functions appear. The domain of validity of the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation is discussed, and, in conclusion, it seems doubtful that the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation is valid even for the transport phenomena in the degenerate Bose gas, on account of the singularity of the distribution function in momentum space.
This is the first of a series of articles where we develop a theory for the description of the dynamics of dilute quantum gases, at or out of equilibrium, with an accurate treatment of the correlation effects introduced by binary collisions (these correlations are not taken into account when the Boltzmann equation is used). For this purpose, we propose the introduction of a variant of the Wigner transform, the « free Wigner transform », which wipes out the effects of the potential at short distances. If initially factorized, the entering part of the free transform remains exactly so during all collision, so that it is better adapted to a molecular chaos assumption than the ordinary transform. Once the free transform is known, the effects of the short distance correlations can be reconstructed from it. Therefore, the problem is to find an appropriate equation of evolution which gives its time variations. With this aim in mind, we study in the present article the evolution of the free Wigner transform in a binary collision. We show that its evolution equation includes coefficients which can be exactly obtained from the « on shell » terms of the T matrix (S matrix, phase shifts), even while the particles are interacting. In addition to the usual terms which involve the scattering cross sections, as usual with the Boltzmann equation, the calculation provides other terms which correspond to collision retardation effects and « refraction » effects (refraction of the wave function of the test atom by density gradients of the collision partners). These terms will play an important role in the following article, and introduce the second virial corrections to the equilibrium and transport properties of the gas.
The theory of gases in nonstationary states, given by Lorentz and Enskog, is generalized for the quantum statistics to give the hydrodynamical equations and the distribution function in first and second approximation, and formal expressions for the viscosity and heat conductivity coefficients. These results are valid for all statistics and for all degrees of degeneration. Two essential points contribute to this generality: (a) Exact expressions independent of statistics and degeneration can be given for the coordinate and time derivatives of the coefficient A of the equilibrium distribution function in terms of the pressure and temperature gradients and time derivatives, though a closed expression for this coefficient as a function of v and T is known only in limiting cases; (b) The function W of the general equation of state for ideal gases in all statistics pv=(MRT)W(v32T) is adiabatically invariant. Numerical values of the viscosity and heat conductivity coefficients, which should come out of the formal theory on the introduction of special assumptions about the molecular forces, have not yet been obtained. It is our hope that these results, when found, may furnish an experimental test of the existence of Einstein-Bose statistics in real gases, as is required by theory.
Close to equilibrium, a normal Bose or Fermi fluid can be
described by an exact kinetic equation whose kernel is nonlocal in space and time. The general expression derived for the kernel is evaluated to second order in the interparticle potential. The result is a wavevector- and frequency-dependent generalization of the linear
Uehling-Uhlenbeck kernel with the Born approximation cross section. The theory is formulated in terms of second-quantized phase space operators whose equilibrium averages are the n-particle Wigner distribution functions. Convenient expressions for the commutators and anticommutators of the phase space operators are obtained. The two-particle equilibrium distribution function is analyzed in terms of momentum-dependent quantum generalizations of the
classical pair distribution function h(k) and direct correlation function c(k). The kinetic equation is presented as the equation of motion of a two -particle correlation function, the phase space density-density anticommutator, and is derived by a formal closure of the quantum BBGKY hierarchy. An alternative derivation using a projection operator is also given. It is shown that the method used for approximating the kernel by a second order expansion preserves all the sum rules to the same order, and that the second-order kernel satisfies the appropriate positivity and symmetry conditions.