arXiv subjects

Pierre-Henri Chavanis

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre-Henri Chavanis.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

BEC dark matter, Zeldovich approximation and generalized Burgers equation

If the dark matter in the universe is a self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with quartic self-interaction described by the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson system, the adhesion model, the Burgers equation and the cosmological Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation that have been introduced heuristically to solve the problems inherent to cold dark matter (CDM) models find a natural justification and an interesting generalization.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Growth of perturbations in an expanding universe with Bose-Einstein condensate dark matter

We study the growth of perturbations in an expanding Newtonian universe with Bose-Einstein condensate dark matter. We first ignore special relativistic effects and derive a differential equation governing the evolution of the density contrast in the linear regime taking into account quantum pressure and self-interaction. This equation can be solved analytically in several cases. We argue that an attractive self-interaction can enhance the Jeans instability and fasten the formation of structures. Then, we take into account pressure effects (coming from special relativity) in the evolution of the cosmic fluid and add the contribution of radiation, baryons and dark energy (cosmological constant). For a BEC dark matter with repulsive self-interaction (positive pressure) the scale factor increases more rapidly than in the standard ΛCDM model where dark matter is pressureless while for a BEC dark matter with attractive self-interaction (negative pressure) it increases less rapidly. We study the linear development of the perturbations in these two cases and show that the perturbations grow faster in a BEC dark matter than in a pressureless dark matter. This confirms a recent result of Harko (2011). Finally, we consider a "dark fluid" with a generalized equation of state p=(αρ+ k ρ^2)c^2 having a component p=k ρ^2 c^2 similar to a BEC dark matter and a component p=αρc^2 mimicking the effect of the cosmological constant (dark energy). We find optimal parameters that give a good agreement with the standard ΛCDM model assuming a finite cosmological constant.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The HMF model for fermions and bosons

We study the thermodynamics of quantum particles with long-range interactions at T=0. Specifically, we generalize the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model to the case of fermions and bosons. In the case of fermions, we consider the Thomas-Fermi approximation that becomes exact in a proper thermodynamic limit. The equilibrium configurations, described by the Fermi (or waterbag) distribution, are equivalent to polytropes with index n=1/2. In the case of bosons, we consider the Hartree approximation that becomes exact in a proper thermodynamic limit. The equilibrium configurations are solutions of the mean field Schrödinger equation with a cosine interaction. We show that the homogeneous phase, that is unstable in the classical regime, becomes stable in the quantum regime. This takes place through a first order phase transition for fermions and through a second order phase transition for bosons where the control parameter is the normalized Planck constant. In the case of fermions, the homogeneous phase is stabilized by the Pauli exclusion principle while for bosons the stabilization is due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. As a result, the thermodynamic limit is different for fermions and bosons. We point out analogies between the quantum HMF model and the concepts of fermion and boson stars in astrophysics. Finally, as a by-product of our analysis, we obtain new results concerning the Vlasov dynamical stability of the waterbag distribution.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Thermodynamics of the HMF model with a magnetic field

We study the thermodynamics of the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model with an external potential playing the role of a "magnetic field". If we consider only fully stable states, this system does not present any phase transition. However, if we take into account metastable states (for a restricted class of perturbations), we find a very rich phenomenology. In particular, the system displays a region of negative specific heats in the microcanonical ensemble in which the temperature decreases as the energy increases. This leads to ensembles inequivalence and to zeroth order phase transitions similar to the "gravothermal catastrophe" and to the "isothermal collapse" of self-gravitating systems. In the present case, they correspond to the reorganization of the system from an "anti-aligned" phase (magnetization pointing in the direction opposite to the magnetic field) to an "aligned" phase (magnetization pointing in the same direction as the magnetic field). We also find that the magnetic susceptibility can be negative in the microcanonical ensemble so that the magnetization decreases as the magnetic field increases. The magnetic curves can take various shapes depending on the values of energy or temperature. We describe hysteretic cycles involving positive or negative susceptibilities. We also show that this model exhibits gaps in the magnetization at fixed energy, resulting in ergodicity breaking.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Noise-induced dynamical phase transitions in long-range systems

In the thermodynamic limit, the time evolution of isolated long-range interacting systems is properly described by the Vlasov equation. This equation admits non-equilibrium dynamically stable stationary solutions characterized by a zero order parameter. We show that the presence of external noise sources, like for instance a heat bath, can induce at a specific time a dynamical phase transition marked by a non-zero order parameter. This transition corresponds to a restoring of the full ergodic properties of the system and may be used as a distinctive experimental signature of the existence of non-equilibrium Vlasov-stable states. In particular, we evidence for the first time a regime characterized by an order parameter pulse. Our analytical results are corroborated by numerical simulations of a paradigmatic long-range model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Brownian particles with long and short range interactions

We develop a kinetic theory of Brownian particles with long and short range interactions. We consider both overdamped and inertial models. In the overdamped limit, the evolution of the spatial density is governed by the generalized mean field Smoluchowski equation including a mean field potential due to long-range interactions and a generically nonlinear barotropic pressure due to short-range interactions. This equation describes various physical systems such as self-gravitating Brownian particles (Smoluchowski-Poisson system), bacterial populations experiencing chemotaxis (Keller-Segel model) and colloidal particles with capillary interactions. We also take into account the inertia of the particles and derive corresponding kinetic and hydrodynamic equations generalizing the usual Kramers, Jeans, Euler and Cattaneo equations. For each model, we provide the corresponding form of free energy and establish the H-theorem and the virial theorem. Finally, we show that the same hydrodynamic equations are obtained in the context of nonlinear mean field Fokker-Planck equations associated with generalized thermodynamics. However, in that case, the nonlinear pressure is due to the bias in the transition probabilities from one state to the other leading to non-Boltzmannian distributions while in the former case the distribution is Boltzmannian but the nonlinear pressure arises from the two-body correlation function induced by the short-range potential of interaction. As a whole, our paper develops connections between the topics of long-range interactions, short-range interactions, nonlinear mean field Fokker-Planck equations and generalized thermodynamics. It also justifies from a kinetic theory based on microscopic processes, the basic equations that were introduced phenomenologically in gravitational Brownian dynamics, chemotaxis and colloidal suspensions with attractive interactions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Dynamical and thermodynamical stability of isothermal distributions in the HMF model

We provide a new derivation of the conditions of dynamical and thermodynamical stability of homogeneous and inhomogeneous isothermal distributions in the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model. This proof completes the original thermodynamical approach of Inagaki [Prog. Theor. Phys. 90, 557 (1993)]. Our formalism, based on variational principles, is simple and the method can be applied to more general situations. For example, it can be used to settle the dynamical stability of polytropic distributions with respect to the Vlasov equation [Chavanis & Campa, arXiv:1001.2109]. For isothermal distributions, the calculations can be performed fully analytically, providing therefore a clear illustration of the method.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Statistical mechanics of Beltrami flows in axisymmetric geometry: Equilibria and bifurcations

We characterize the thermodynamical equilibrium states of axisymmetric Euler-Beltrami flows. They have the form of coherent structures presenting one or several cells. We find the relevant control parameters and derive the corresponding equations of state. We prove the coexistence of several equilibrium states for a given value of the control parameter like in 2D turbulence [Chavanis and Sommeria, J. Fluid Mech. 314, 267 (1996)]. We explore the stability of these equilibrium states and show that all states are saddle points of entropy and can, in principle, be destabilized by a perturbation with a larger wavenumber, resulting in a structure at the smallest available scale. This mechanism is therefore reminiscent of the 3D Richardson energy cascade towards smaller and smaller scales. Therefore, our system is truly intermediate between 2D turbulence (coherent structures) and 3D turbulence (energy cascade). We further explore numerically the robustness of the equilibrium states with respect to random perturbations using a relaxation algorithm in both canonical and microcanonical ensembles. We show that saddle points of entropy can be very robust and therefore play a role in the dynamics. We evidence differences in the robustness of the solutions in the canonical and microcanonical ensembles. A scenario of bifurcation between two different equilibria (with one or two cells) is proposed and discussed in connection with a recent observation of a turbulent bifurcation in a von Karman experiment [Ravelet et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 164501 (2004)].

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2010

Statistical mechanics of Beltrami flows in axisymmetric geometry: Theory reexamined

A simplified thermodynamic approach of the incompressible axisymmetric Euler equations is considered based on the conservation of helicity, angular momentum and microscopic energy. Statistical equilibrium states are obtained by maximizing the Boltzmann entropy under these sole constraints. We assume that these constraints are selected by the properties of forcing and dissipation. The fluctuations are found to be Gaussian while the mean flow is in a Beltrami state. Furthermore, we show that the maximization of entropy at fixed helicity, angular momentum and microscopic energy is equivalent to the minimization of macroscopic energy at fixed helicity and angular momentum. This provides a justification of this selective decay principle from statistical mechanics. These theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experiments of a von Karman turbulent flow and provide a way to measure the temperature of turbulence and check Fluctuation-Dissipation Relations (FDR). Relaxation equations are derived that could provide an effective description of the dynamics towards the Beltrami state and the progressive emergence of a Gaussian distribution. They can also provide a numerical algorithm to determine maximum entropy states or minimum energy states.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2010

Escape of stars from gravitational clusters in the Chandrasekhar model

We study the evaporation of stars from globular clusters using the simplified Chandrasekhar model. This is an analytically tractable model giving reasonable agreement with more sophisticated models that require complicated numerical integrations. In the Chandrasekhar model: (i) the stellar system is assumed to be infinite and homogeneous (ii) the evolution of the velocity distribution of stars f(v,t) is governed by a Fokker-Planck equation, the so-called Kramers-Chandrasekhar equation (iii) the velocities |v| that are above a threshold value R>0 (escape velocity) are not counted in the statistical distribution of the system. In fact, high velocity stars leave the system, due to free evaporation or to the attraction of a neighboring galaxy (tidal effects). Accordingly, the total mass and energy of the system decrease in time. If the star dynamics is described by the Kramers-Chandrasekhar equation, the mass decreases to zero exponentially rapidly. Our goal is to obtain non-perturbative analytical results that complement the seminal studies of Chandrasekhar, Michie and King valid for large times $t\to+\infty$ and large escape velocities $R\to +\infty$. In particular, we obtain an exact semi-explicit solution of the Kramers-Chandrasekhar equation with the absorbing boundary condition f(R,t)=0. We use it to obtain an explicit expression of the mass loss at any time t when $R\to +\infty$. We also derive an exact integral equation giving the exponential evaporation rate $λ(R)$, and the corresponding eigenfunction $f_λ(v)$, when $t\to +\infty$ for any sufficiently large value of the escape velocity R. For $R\to +\infty$, we obtain an explicit expression of the evaporation rate that refines the Chandrasekhar results.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Dynamical stability criterion for inhomogeneous quasi-stationary states in long-range systems

We derive a necessary and sufficient condition of linear dynamical stability for inhomogeneous Vlasov stationary states of the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model. The condition is expressed by an explicit disequality that has to be satisfied by the stationary state, and it generalizes the known disequality for homogeneous stationary states. In addition, we derive analogous disequalities that express necessary and sufficient conditions of formal stability for the stationary states. Their usefulness, from the point of view of linear dynamical stability, is that they are simpler, although they provide only sufficient criteria of linear stability. We show that for homogeneous stationary states the relations become equal, and therefore linear dynamical stability and formal stability become equivalent.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Collapse and evaporation of a canonical self-gravitating gas

We review the out-of-equilibrium properties of a self-gravitating gas of particles in the presence of a strong friction and a random force (canonical gas). We assume a bare diffusion coefficient of the form $D(ρ)=Tρ^{1/n}$, where $ρ$ is the local particle density, so that the equation of state is $P(ρ)=D(ρ)ρ$. Depending on the spatial dimension $d$, the index $n$, the temperature $T$, and whether the system is confined to a finite box or not, the system can reach an equilibrium state, collapse or evaporate. This article focuses on the latter cases, presenting a complete dynamical phase diagram of the system.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Kinetic equations for systems with long-range interactions: a unified description

We complete the existing literature on the kinetic theory of systems with long-range interactions. Starting from the BBGKY hierarchy, or using projection operator technics or a quasilinear theory, a general kinetic equation can be derived when collective effects are neglected. This equation (which is not well-known) applies to possibly spatially inhomogeneous systems, which is specific to systems with long-range interactions. Interestingly, the structure of this kinetic equation bears a clear physical meaning in terms of generalized Kubo relations. Furthermore, this equation takes a very similar form for stellar systems and two-dimensional point vortices providing therefore a unified description of the kinetic theory of these systems. If we assume that the system is spatially homogeneous (or axisymmetric for point vortices), this equation can be simplified and reduces to the Landau equation (or its counterpart for point vortices). Our formalism thus offers a simple derivation of Landau-type equations. We also use this general formalism to derive a kinetic equation, written in angle-action variables, describing spatially inhomogeneous systems with long-range interactions. This new derivation solves the shortcomings of our previous derivation [P.H. Chavanis, Physica A 377, 469 (2007)]. Finally, we consider a test particle approach and derive general expressions for the diffusion and friction (or drift) coefficients of a test particle evolving in a bath of field particles. We make contact with the expressions previously obtained in the literature. As an application of the kinetic theory, we argue that the relaxation time is shorter for inhomogeneous (or high-dimensional) systems than for homogeneous (or low-dimensional) systems because there are potentially more resonances.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Dynamical stability of infinite homogeneous self-gravitating systems: application of the Nyquist method

We complete classical investigations concerning the dynamical stability of an infinite homogeneous gaseous medium described by the Euler-Poisson system or an infinite homogeneous stellar system described by the Vlasov-Poisson system (Jeans problem). To determine the stability of an infinite homogeneous stellar system with respect to a perturbation of wavenumber k, we apply the Nyquist method. We first consider the case of single-humped distributions and show that, for infinite homogeneous systems, the onset of instability is the same in a stellar system and in the corresponding barotropic gas, contrary to the case of inhomogeneous systems. We show that this result is true for any symmetric single-humped velocity distribution, not only for the Maxwellian. If we specialize on isothermal and polytropic distributions, analytical expressions for the growth rate, damping rate and pulsation period of the perturbation can be given. Then, we consider the Vlasov stability of symmetric and asymmetric double-humped distributions (two-stream stellar systems) and determine the stability diagrams depending on the degree of asymmetry. We compare these results with the Euler stability of two self-gravitating gaseous streams. Finally, we determine the corresponding stability diagrams in the case of plasmas and compare the results with self-gravitating systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Relativistic stars with a linear equation of state: analogy with classical isothermal spheres and black holes

We complete our previous investigation concerning the structure and the stability of "isothermal" spheres in general relativity. This concerns objects that are described by a linear equation of state $P=qε$ so that the pressure is proportional to the energy density. In the Newtonian limit $q\to 0$, this returns the classical isothermal equation of state. We consider specifically a self-gravitating radiation (q=1/3), the core of neutron stars (q=1/3) and a gas of baryons interacting through a vector meson field (q=1). We study how the thermodynamical parameters scale with the size of the object and find unusual behaviours due to the non-extensivity of the system. We compare these scaling laws with the area scaling of the black hole entropy. We also determine the domain of validity of these scaling laws by calculating the critical radius above which relativistic stars described by a linear equation of state become dynamically unstable. For photon stars, we show that the criteria of dynamical and thermodynamical stability coincide. Considering finite spheres, we find that the mass and entropy as a function of the central density present damped oscillations. We give the critical value of the central density, corresponding to the first mass peak, above which the series of equilibria becomes unstable. Finally, we extend our results to d-dimensional spheres. We show that the oscillations of mass versus central density disappear above a critical dimension d_{crit}(q). For Newtonian isothermal stars (q=0) we recover the critical dimension d_{crit}=10. For the stiffest stars (q=1) we find d_{crit}=9 and for a self-gravitating radiation (q=1/d) we find d_{crit}=9.96404372... very close to 10. Finally, we give analytical solutions of relativistic isothermal spheres in 2D gravity.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2009

A stochastic Keller-Segel model of chemotaxis

We introduce stochastic models of chemotaxis generalizing the deterministic Keller-Segel model. These models include fluctuations which are important in systems with small particle numbers or close to a critical point. Following Dean's approach, we derive the exact kinetic equation satisfied by the density distribution of cells. In the mean field limit where statistical correlations between cells are neglected, we recover the Keller-Segel model governing the smooth density field. We also consider hydrodynamic and kinetic models of chemotaxis that take into account the inertia of the particles and lead to a delay in the adjustment of the velocity of cells with the chemotactic gradient. We make the connection with the Cattaneo model of chemotaxis and the telegraph equation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Statistics of the gravitational force in various dimensions of space: from Gaussian to Levy laws

We discuss the distribution of the gravitational force created by a Poissonian distribution of field sources (stars, galaxies,...) in different dimensions of space d. In d=3, it is given by a Levy law called the Holtsmark distribution. It presents an algebraic tail for large fluctuations due to the contribution of the nearest neighbor. In d=2, it is given by a marginal Gaussian distribution intermediate between Gaussian and Levy laws. In d=1, it is exactly given by the Bernouilli distribution (for any particle number N) which becomes Gaussian for N>>1. Therefore, the dimension d=2 is critical regarding the statistics of the gravitational force. We generalize these results for inhomogeneous systems with arbitrary power-law density profile and arbitrary power-law force in a d-dimensional universe.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2009

Hamiltonian and Brownian systems with long-range interactions: IV. General kinetic equations from the quasilinear theory

We develop the kinetic theory of Hamiltonian systems with weak long-range interactions. Starting from the Klimontovich equation and using a quasilinear theory, we obtain a general kinetic equation that can be applied to spatially inhomogeneous systems and that takes into account memory effects. This equation is valid at order 1/N in a proper thermodynamic limit and it coincides with the kinetic equation obtained from the BBGKY hierarchy. For N tending to infinity, it reduces to the Vlasov equation describing collisionless systems. We describe the process of phase mixing and violent relaxation leading to the formation of a quasi stationary state (QSS) on the coarse-grained scale. We interprete the physical nature of the QSS in relation to Lynden-Bell's statistical theory and discuss the problem of incomplete relaxation. In the second part of the paper, we consider the relaxation of a test particle in a thermal bath. We derive a Fokker-Planck equation by directly calculating the diffusion tensor and the friction force from the Klimontovich equation. We give general expressions of these quantities that are valid for possibly spatially inhomogeneous systems with long correlation time. We show that the diffusion and friction terms have a very similar structure given by a sort of generalized Kubo formula. We also obtain non-markovian kinetic equations that can be relevant when the auto-correlation function of the force decreases slowly with time. An interest of our approach is to develop a formalism that remains in physical space (instead of Fourier space) and that can deal with spatially inhomogeneous systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗