Phase transition in inelastic disks

TL;DR

This paper studies the behavior of inelastic disks through molecular dynamics, revealing a phase transition with symmetry breaking at a critical dissipation level, using a novel rescaled time observation method.

Contribution

It introduces a new observation frame with rescaled time to analyze steady states and investigates phase transition phenomena in inelastic disks.

Findings

Identification of a phase transition with symmetry breaking

Existence of a critical dissipation threshold

Behavior characterized in the thermodynamic limit

Abstract

This letter investigates the molecular dynamics of inelastic disks without external forcing. By introducing a new observation frame with a rescaled time, we observe the virtual steady states converted from asymptotic energy dissipation processes. System behavior in the thermodynamic limit is carefully investigated. It is found that a phase transition with symmetry breaking occurs when the magnitude of dissipation is greater than a critical value.