Abstract
In this chapter we shall study the basic properties of the Boltzmann equation. It is clear from Eq. (7.22) of Chapter I that the left-hand side and the right-hand side are completely different in nature, from both a mathematical and a physical standpoint. The left-hand side contains a linear differential operator which acts on the space- and time-dependence of f; if we equate this side to zero, we obtain an equation for the time evolution in absence of collisions, and the differential operator is accordingly called the “free-streaming operator.”
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References
J. C. Maxwell, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. I, Appendix (1879); reprinted in: The Scientific Papers of J. C. Maxwell, Dover Publications (1965).
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J. Darrozès and J. P. Guiraud, C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) A262, 1368 (1966).
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© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Cercignani, C. (1990). Basic Properties. In: Mathematical Methods in Kinetic Theory. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7291-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7291-0_2
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