The Ehrenfest wind-tree model: periodic directions, recurrence, diffusion

Abstract

We study periodic wind-tree models, unbounded planar billiards with periodically located rectangular obstacles. For a class of rational parameters we show the existence of completely periodic directions, and recurrence; for another class of rational parameters, there are directions in which all trajectories escape, and we prove a rate of escape for almost all directions. These results extend to a dense $G_\delta$ of parameters.