Join us for a seminar by Dr Maxime Debiossac of the German Aerospace Center

Title: Simulating the Boltzmann equation using levitated nanoparticles

Abstract:

The Boltzmann equation, originally developed by Ludwig Boltzmann in 1872, is one of the most important equations of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Its applications cover a wide spectrum of systems, from statistical description of molecules in fluids, to electron transport in solids and plasmas, in passing by galaxy dynamics in general relativity.

Due to its nonlinear nature, existence of solutions of the Boltzmann equation are usually unknown in general, even for a priori simple geometries such as gas flow inside a micropipe.

In this talk, I will show how levitated nanoparticles can be used to measure the pressure and flow velocity of gas molecules inside a hollow core fiber. I will also show how experimental results compare with direct Monte Carlo simulation of the Boltzmann equation.