The Vlasov equation cannot fully account for collisionless shocks

Antoine Bret

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arXiv · 2506.01548

The Vlasov equation cannot fully account for collisionless shocks

Antoine Bret

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Abstract

It is argued that the Vlasov equation cannot fully account for collisionless shocks since it conserves entropy, while a shock does not. A rigorous mathematical theory of collisionless shocks could require working at the Klimontovich level.

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Antoine Bret. 2025-06-02. The Vlasov equation cannot fully account for collisionless shocks. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.01548

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