Diffusion in a Granular Fluid - Simulation

Abstract

The linear response description for impurity diffusion in a granular fluid undergoing homogeneous cooling is developed in the preceeding paper. The formally exact Einstein and Green-Kubo expressions for the self-diffusion coefficient are evaluated there from an approximation to the velocity autocorrelation function. These results are compared here to those from molecular dynamics simulations over a wide range of density and inelasticity, for the particular case of self-diffusion. It is found that the approximate theory is in good agreement with simulation data up to moderate densities and degrees of inelasticity. At higher density, the effects of inelasticity are stronger, leading to a significant enhancement of the diffusion coefficient over its value for elastic collisions. Possible explanations associated with an unstable long wavelength shear mode are explored, including the effects of strong fluctuations and mode coupling.