Dynamical mechanisms leading to equilibration in two-component gases

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a dynamical mechanism in two-component Lorentz gases that explains how microscopic interactions lead to thermalization, with each component capable of driving the other to a thermal state despite non-equilibrium conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel dynamical mechanism for thermalization in two-component gases and proves that each component can induce thermal equilibrium in the other.

Findings

Each component can drive the other to a thermal state.

The mechanism works even when components are in non-equilibrium.

A well-defined effective temperature emerges for each component.

Abstract

Demonstrating how microscopic dynamics cause large systems to approach thermal equilibrium remains an elusive, longstanding, and actively-pursued goal of statistical mechanics. We identify here a dynamical mechanism for thermalization in a general class of two-component dynamical Lorentz gases, and prove that each component, even when maintained in a non-equilibrium state itself, can drive the other to a thermal state with a well-defined effective temperature.