2010/04/30 by Thomas Lepers, T. Lepers, D. Davesne +4 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Boltzmann constant #Boltzmann equation #Classical mechanics #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Fermion #Function (biology) #Harmonic #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Relaxation (psychology) #Spherical harmonics #Statistical physics #Test particle #cond-mat.quant-gas #nucl-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.82.023609
published as Phys.Rev.A82:023609,2010 · 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A
arxiv created 2010/06/28 · openalex publication_date 2010/08/13 · arxiv updated 2014/11/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We numerically solve the Boltzmann equation for trapped fermions in the normal phase by using the test-particle method. After discussing a couple of tests in order to estimate the reliability of the method, we apply it to the description of collective modes in a spherical harmonic trap. The numerical results are compared with those obtained previously by taking moments of the Boltzmann equation. We find that the general shape of the response function is very similar in both methods, but the relaxation time obtained from the simulation is significantly longer than that predicted by the method of moments. It is shown that the result of the method of moments can be corrected by including fourth-order moments in addition to the usual second-order ones and that this method agrees very well with our numerical simulations.