Translational and rotational non-Gaussianities in homogeneous freely evolving granular gases

Abstract

The importance of roughness in the modeling of granular gases has been increasingly considered in recent years. In this paper, a freely evolving homogeneous granular gas of inelastic and rough hard disks or spheres is studied under the assumptions of the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The homogeneous base state reached by the system is studied from a theoretical point of view using a Sonine approximation, in contrast to a previous Maxwellian approach. A general theoretical description is done in terms of $d_t$ translational and $d_r$ rotational degrees of freedom, which accounts for the cases of spheres ($d_t=d_r=3$) and disks ($d_t=2$, $d_r=1$) within a unified framework. The non-Gaussianities of the velocity distribution function of this state are determined by means of the first nontrivial cumulants and by the derivation of non-Maxwellian high-velocity tails. The results are validated by computer simulations using direct simulation Monte Carlo and event-driven molecular dynamics algorithms.