Langevin Equation for the Rayleigh model with finite-ranged interactions

TL;DR

This paper derives Langevin equations from the Liouville equation for a solvable model of a Brownian particle interacting with gas molecules via a quadratic potential, revealing how interaction range affects statistical properties and dynamics.

Contribution

It provides explicit microscopic expressions for kinetic coefficients and analyzes the impact of interaction range on Langevin equation applicability and force statistics.

Findings

Langevin equations derived from microscopic dynamics for finite-range interactions.

Statistical properties depend on mass ratio and number of molecules in the interaction zone.

Finite-range potential models capture nontrivial collision dynamics beyond binary interactions.

Abstract

Both linear and nonlinear Langevin equations are derived directly from the Liouville equation for an exactly solvable model consisting of a Brownian particle of mass $M$ interacting with ideal gas molecules of mass $m$ via a quadratic repulsive potential. Explicit microscopic expressions for all kinetic coefficients appearing in these equations are presented. It is shown that the range of applicability of the Langevin equation, as well as statistical properties of random force, may depend not only on the mass ratio $m/M$ but also by the parameter $Nm/M$, involving the average number $N$ of molecules in the interaction zone around the particle. For the case of a short-ranged potential, when $N\ll 1$, analysis of the Langevin equations yields previously obtained results for a hard-wall potential in which only binary collisions are considered. For the finite-ranged potential, when multiple collisions are important ($N\gg 1$), the model describes nontrivial dynamics on time scales that are on the order of the collision time, a regime that is usually beyond the scope of more phenomenological models.