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Survival-Time Distribution for Inelastic Collapse

Michael R. Swift·Alan J. Bray
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Abstract

In a recent publication [PRL {\bf 81}, 1142 (1998)] it was argued that a randomly forced particle which collides inelastically with a boundary can undergo inelastic collapse and come to rest in a finite time. Here we discuss the survival probability for the inelastic collapse transition. It is found that the collapse-time distribution behaves asymptotically as a power-law in time, and that the exponent governing this decay is non-universal. An approximate calculation of the collapse-time exponent confirms this behaviour and shows how inelastic collapse can be viewed as a generalised persistence phenomenon.

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Michael R. Swift, Alan J. Bray. 1998-11-30. Survival-Time Distribution for Inelastic Collapse. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.59.r4721

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