Particle-wall collision statistics in the open circular billiard

TL;DR

This paper analytically and numerically studies the collision and escape statistics of particles in an open circular billiard, revealing decay behaviors and the structure of probability distributions over time.

Contribution

It provides the first analytical solutions for the evolution of collision distributions and escape probabilities in an open circular billiard system with varying aperture sizes.

Findings

Escape probability decays as a power law with exponent 4 for large apertures.

Distribution peaks form near periodic orbits, influencing escape dynamics.

Analytical solutions are obtained for distributions up to four collisions and for arbitrary steps when aperture exceeds half the circle.

Abstract

In the open circular billiard particles are placed initially with a uniform distribution in their positions inside a planar circular vesicle. They all have velocities of the same magnitude, whose initial directions are also uniformly distributed. No particle-particle interactions are included, only specular elastic collisions of the particles with the wall of the vesicle. The particles may escape through an aperture with an angle $2\delta$. The collisions of the particles with the wall are characterized by the angular position and the angle of incidence. We study the evolution of the system considering the probability distributions of these variables at successive times $n$ the particle reaches the border of the vesicle. These distributions are calculated analytically and measured in numerical simulations. For finite apertures $\delta<\pi/2$, a particular set of initial conditions exists for which the particles are in periodic orbits and never escape the vesicle. This set is of zero measure, but the selection of angular momenta close to these orbits is observed after some collisions, and thus the distributions of probability have a structure formed by peaks. We calculate the marginal distributions up to $n=4$, but for $\delta>\pi/2$ a solution is found for arbitrary $n$. The escape probability as a function of $n^{-1}$ decays with an exponent 4 for $\delta>\pi/2$ and evidences for a power law decay are found for lower apertures as well.