Some Hamiltonian Models of Friction

Abstract

Mathematical results on some models describing the motion of a tracer particle through a Bose-Einstein condensate are described. In the limit of a very dense, very weakly interacting Bose gas and for a very large particle mass, the dynamics of the coupled system is determined by classical non-linear Hamiltonian equations of motion. The particle's motion exhibits deceleration corresponding to friction (with memory) caused by the emission of Cerenkov radiation of gapless modes into the gas. Precise results are stated and outlines of proofs are presented. Some technical details are deferred to forthcoming papers.